SITTING  BULL. 


THE  RED  RECORD  OF  THE  SIOUX. 


LIFE  OF 

* 

SITTING  BULL 


AND 


HISTORY  OF  THE  INDIAN  WAR 

OK  189O-'91 


A.  FRAPHIC   ACCOUNT   OF  THE  LIFE   OF  THE  GREAT   MEDICINE   MAN  AND  CHIEF 

SITTING  BULL:   HIS  TRAGIC  DEATH:  STORY  OF  THE  sioux  NATION; 
THEIR  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS,  GHOST  DANCES  AND  MESSIAH 
CRAZE;  ALSO,  A  VERY  COMPLETE  HISTORY  OF  THE 
SANGUINARY  INDIAN  WAR  OF 


BY  W\ FLETCHER  JOHNSON, 

53^ 
Author  of  "The  Johnstown  Flood,"  "Stanley  in  Africa,"  etc.,  eta 


PROFUSELY  ILLUSTRATED. 


PUBLISHING 
PUBLISHERS. 


«*PTBIGHTED.  1891,  BT  H.  W.  STBIKOI 


ncroft  Ubrar* 


PREFACE. 


There  is  in  all  the  checkered  history  of  America  nr> 
chapter  of  more  general  interest  than  that  which  tells  of 
the  Aborigines  and  our  dealings  with  them.  It  narrates 
a  story  often  shameful,  often  noble,  sometimes  pusillani 
mous,  sometimes  heroic,  now  causing  us  to  blush  with  shame 
for  fallen  human  nature,  now  kindling  us  with  enthusi 
astic  admiration  for  humanity  that  seems  almost  divine; 
but  always  full  of  power  to  thrill  the  heart,  of  romance 
to  captivate  the  fancy,  and  of  rich  food  to  nourish  earnest 
thought.  To  the  man  of  war  and  to  the  man  of  peace, 
to  the  statesman  and  to  the  Christian  teacher,  to  the  sci 
entist,  and  to  the  romanticist,  it  makes  with  equal  direct 
ness  its  irresistible  appeal. 

It  is  the  object  of  the  present  volume  to  relate  the  story 
of  the  Sioux,  more  properly  the  Dakota  Indians,  and 
our  relations  with  them.  Of  all  the  aboriginal  people, 
they  were  the  greatest, — the  bravest  in  war,  the  wisest 
in  peace,  the 'most  powerful  in  body,  the  most  advanced 
in  mind.  As  possessors  of  the  famed  Red  Pipe  Stone 
Quarry,  the  Indian  Mecca,  where  Gitche  Manito  the 
Mighty,  revealed  himself  to  man,  they  have  cherished  and 


PREFACE. 

developed  more  than  any  others  the  myths  and  legends 
of  the  Indian  race.  The  foremost  leaders  of  aboriginal 
civilization,  they  have  longest  resisted  the  inflowing  tide  of 
alien  civilization  brought  hither  by  the  Puritan  and  the 
Cavalier.  And  to-day,  he  who  would  study  the  red  race  in 
its  noblest  remnant  and  in  its  best  estate,  must  do  so 
among  the  scattered  lodges  of  the  Sioux. 

The  name  of  Sitting  Bull  must  be  as  famous  as  that 
of  Tecumseh,  of  Red  Cloud,  as  that  of  Black  Hawk  or 
Massasoit  The  Sioux  massacres  of  1862,  make  Wyom 
ing  seem  commonplace,  and  the  last  rally  of  Custer  at  the 
Little  Big  Horn  fight  has  no  parallel  in  all  the  annals 
of  our  Indian  wars.  Nor  is  the  long  drama  drawn  to  an 
unworthy  close  by  the  weird  Ghost  Dances,  the  death  of 
Sitting  Bull  and  the  mad  slaughtering  at  Wounded  Knee. 

It  is  the  present  purpose  to  record  this  history  before  the 
blood  of  the  last  grim  chapter  shall  have  grown  dry.  The 
tale  is  told  chiefly  in  the  words  of  those  who  could  truly  say, 
magna  pars  quorum  fuimus.  The  views  of  both  friends 
and  foes  of  the  Indian  are  given  a  fair  hearing,  nothing 
extenuated,  nothing  set  down  in  malice.  In  years  to  come, 
when  some  metempsychosis  shall  have  translated  passion 
into  philosophy,  a  more  discerning  judgment  may  record  in 
other  terms  these  same  events.  For  this  day  and  this 
generation  we  can  only  tell  the  story  as  it  comes  to  us 
in  the  echoes  of  war,  in  the  prayer  for  relief,  in  the  cry 
of  despair. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

A  Unique  History  in  Pictures— The  Chiefs  Own  Story  of  His  Bloody  and 
Lawless  Career — Killing  Enemies  and  Stealing  Mules — Many  Different 
Stories  of  His  Life— Was  He  a  West  Point  Graduate  ?— Startling 
Theory  of  an  Army  Officer 19 

CHAPTER  IL 

MEDICINE  MAN  AND  WARRIOR. 

The  True  Story  of  Sitting  Bull's  Life — Son  of  a  Rich  Chief— A  Buffalo 
Hunter  at  Ten  Years  Old— His  Three  Wives  and  Nine  Children,  Includ 
ing  Twins — How  He  Gained  Supreme  Sway  Among  the  Sioux — What 
it  is  to  be  a  Medicine  Man 39 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  SAVAGE  IN  SOCIETY. 

His  Visit  to  a  Camp  at  Fargo — Ashamed  of  His  Primitive  Garb — His 
First  Suit  of  White  Man's  Clothes— A  Discomfited  Young  Clergyman 
— The  Indian  at  Dinner — His  First  Look  in  a  Mirror — Autograph 
Selling 49 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  FOE  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN. 

Fort  Buford's  Ghastly  Tragedy — An  Accomplished  Cattle  Thief— Con 
tempt  for  Pale  Faces — Opposing  Invasion  of  His  Territory — The  Fort 
Ellis  Episode— A  Pen-and-ink  Sketch  of  the  Savage  Chief. 60 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  LITTLE  BIG  HORN. 

Sitting  Bull  at  the  Height  of  His  Power— The  Rush  for  the  Black  Hills- 
Ineffectual  Negotiations — Sitting  Bull's  Defiant  Answer  to  a  Summons 
— Preparations  for  a  Great  Struggle: — How  the  Three  Divisions  of  the 
Army  Marched  into  the  Indians'  Country 66 


CONTENTS.  , 

CHAPTER  VI. 

CUSTER'S  LAST  RALLY. 

Departure  of  the  Cavalry — March  of  the  Infantry — First  News  of  the 
Disaster— The  Rescue— Story  of  the  Battle— Reno's  Force  Rescued 
Twice— How  Custer  Fought  to  the  End 84 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  DEATH   OF  CUSTER. 

Two  Stories  of  the  Grim  Tragedy— General  Terry's  Official  Report— 
The  Desperate  March  to  the  Relief  of  Reno — Narrative  of  Old  Nick 
Senneiss — A  Picture  Record  by  Little  Big  Man 103 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

CUSTER. 

The  Beau  Sabreur  of  the  Army — Brilliant  Services  as  a  Cavalry  Officer 
in  Many  Battles  During  the  Rebellion — The  Comrade  of  Phil.  Kearney 
and  Phil.  Sheridan — His  Work  as  an  Indian  Fighter — A  Soldier  Who 
Never  Knew  What  Fear  Was,  and  Who  Never  Lost  a  Gun  or  a  Color 
Until  His  Last  Battle 1 116 

CHAPTER  IX. 

IN  EXILE. 

Unfounded  Rumors  of  Sitting  Bull's  Death — His  Retreat  into  Canada — 
Visited  There  by  a  Government  Commission — His  Defiant  Refusal  to 
Return  Home — Speeches  by  the  Chiefs — Sitting  Bull's  Own  Words 137 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  MIGHTY   FALLEN. 

Sitting  Bull  Ruined  by  His  Flight  to  Canada — His  Followers  Starved  into 
Mutiny  Against  Him— The  Return  to  Dakota— The  Fate  of  His 
Daughter,  Sleeping  Water — A  Vain  Appeal — Taken  to  Fort  Randall 
as  a  Prisoner  of  War 156 

CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  LAST  CAMPA7GN. 

Sitting  Bull  Involved  in  the  Messiah  Craze — His  Hope  of  Regaining  His 
Old  Position — Plots  and  Disaffection — Visited  by  a  Young  Lady  Mis 
sionary — Agent  McLaughlin's  Visit — The  Ghost  Dances — Sitting  Bull's 
Remarkable  Proposition 168 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  XII. 

DEATH   OF  THE   GREAT   CHIEF. 

General  Miles  Gave  the  Word  for  His  Arrest— Was  it  Intended  to  Kill 
Him,  Rather  than  Take  Him  Alive  ? — Indian  Police  Led  the  Way — 
The  Arrest  and  Attempted  Rescue— The  Fatal  Shot— Another  Account 
of  the  Tragedy — Disposition  of  His  Remains 178 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

TRIBUTES  TO   HIS  MEMORY. 

His  Neice's  Indignation  and  Grief — A  Senator's  Attempt  to  be  Funny  over 
a  Tragedy— «« Buffalo  Bill's"  Tribute— General  Schofield's  Views— 
"Adirondack"  Murray's  Eloquent  Protest  and  Rebuke — Sitting  Bull 
Compared  with  Webster  and  with  Gladstone 189 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  SIOUX  NATION. 

Mightiest  of  all  the  Native  Tribes — Longfellow's  "  Minnehaha "— Sub- 
divisions  of  the  Tribe — Catlin's  Account  of  Them  Half  a  Century  Ago 
— Not  Drunken,  nor  Naked,  nor  Poor — A  More  Recent  and  Less 
Friendly  View 204 

CHAPTER  XV. 

LEGENDS   AND  CREEDS. 

The  Indian  Holy  Land,  the  Mountains  of  the  Prairies — The  Sioux  Story 
of  the  Flood — Origin  of  the  Red  Pipe  Stone — Indian  Love  of  the  Myste 
rious—Their  Ideas  of  the  Future  Life— Their  Code  of  Worldly  Ethics 
Vindicated. , 213 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

IN   PEACE  AND  WAR. 

The  Sioux  Language — An  Indian's  Sense  of  Humor — "  OW  Hundred," 
"Come  to  Jesus,"  and  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  Sioux — War  Paint  on  the 
Braves— A  Battle  with  the  Pawnees— The  Value  of  a  Scalp— A  Leisure 
ly  Interview  with  a  Busy  Secretary 226 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

FEASTING   AND  DANCING. 

Conspicuous  Features  of  Indian  Public  Life — A  Grand  Festival  in  the 
Olden  Time — The  Speech  of  Welcome — Stewed  Dog  the  Leading 
Dish— The  Grass  Dance  of  the  Two  Kettles  and  its  Accompanying 
Feast  of  Dog — Dancing  Extraordinary — The  Bear  Dance,  Beggar's 
Dance,  Scalp  Dance  and  Sun  Dance 23 


||lf-^:;  ^  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  GHOST  DANCES. 

A  Memorable  Season  in  Indian  History — Prophecies  of  the  Coming  of 
the  Messiah — The  Ghost  Dances  Intended  to  Prepare  for  His  Advent, 
and  to  Bring  the  People  into  Communication  with  Him — Porcupine's 
Story  of  the  Messiah  and  His  Command  for  the  Dance 257 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  INDIAN  MESSIAH. 

Sincerity  of  the  Belief  in  Him— When  and  Where  He  was  First  Heard 
of— Porcupine's  Visit  to  Him — What  He  Said  to  the  Indians — Bad 
Record  of  the  "  Messiah  "—His  Complicity  in  the  White  River 
Massacre — Another  Account  of  Him..... 267 

CHAPTER  XX. 

INDIAN  WARS. 

A  Shameful  Record— A  Thousand  Dollars  Spent  for  Every  Indian  in  the 
Country — The  Long  Catalogue  of  Conflicts  and  Expenses — Fearful 
Cost  in  Life  and  Limb  as  Well  as  Money  and  National  Honor 282 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  FIRST  SIOUX  WAR. 

Provoked  by  White  Men— Narrative  of  One  Who  Was  There— Indescrib 
able  Outrages  Perpetrated  By  the  Savages  Upon  Women  and  Children 
— A  City  of  Death — General  Sibley's  Campaign — Sentences  of  the 
Ringleaders 295 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

CAUSES   OF  THE  LAST  WAR. 

What  the  Indians  Say— Father  Jule's  Interview  with  the  Chiefs— The 
Census — Broken  Faith  and  Diminished  Supplies — Letter  from  American 
Horse — The  Indians'  Stories  Confirmed  by  Government  Reports 304 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

EFFORTS   FOR   PEACE. 

Mrs.  Weldon's  Remarkable  Mission  to  the  Camp  of  Sitting  Bull— Her 
Desire  to  Confront  the  Prophet  of  the  Messiah— Forced  to  Flee  for 
Safety — Her  Views  of  the  Situation — Her  Life  in  Dakota 318 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  SEAT  OF  WAR. 

Pine  Ridge  Reservation  and  Agency — The  Gardens  and  the  Buildings 
— Dr.  McGillicudy's  Administration — The  Catholic  Mission  School — 
Some  Account  of  the  Bad  Lands — A  Truly  Horrible  Region 338 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

LIFE  AT  PINE   RIDGE. 

Experience  of  the  War  Correspondents — Trying  to  Take  a  Picture — The 
Squaw  Dances — "  Have  You  Got  Christ  in  the  Guard  House  ?" — Fire- 
Water  with  a  Vengeance — The  Indian  Boys — Married  Life 34^ 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 

INDIANS   AND   SETTLERS. 

Mixed  Civilization  at  Rushville— The  Cowboy  at  Home— Indian  Loafers 
The  Cigarette  Habit — "  Themdaminjuus  " — Stories  of  a  Veteran  Fron 
tiersman — Unappreciated  Architecture — White  Ghost— Badly  Scared....  353 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

RED  CLOUD 

A  Leader  of  the  Hostile  Indians — His  Treacherous  Nature — Romantic 
Story  of  His  Early  Years — A  Mission  Teacher's  Account  of  Him — His 
Deceitful  Words  to  a  Visitor  and  His  Letter  to  a  Friend 367 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE   LEADERS   OF  THE   SIOUX. 

Little  Wound  and  His  Lieutenants — Yellow  Bear — Young  Man- Afraid- 
of- His  Horses — Otti,  the  Shoshone — High  Hear — American  Horse — 
John  Grass,  the  Indian  Judge — Gall,  the  Greatest  of  the  Sioux  Warriors 
and  Generals — Spotted  Tail's  Eloquent  Speech 376 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE   BEGINNING  OF  WAR. 

Dakota  Settlers  Panic-Stricken — General  Miles  on  the  Situation — Pine 
Ridge  Regarded  as  the  Fatal  Point — Rosebud  Indians  Break  Loose — 
Troops  Hurried  to  the  Scene — A  Coal  Mine  for  a  Fort — A  Night's 
Alarm— A  Much-Scared  Saddler— Governor  Mellette's  Letter 386 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  XXX. 

FROM  BAD  TO  WORSE. 

An  Ominous  Thanksgiving — Scenes  at  an  Issuing  of  Beef—"  Buffalo  Bill " 
—Plenty  Bear's  Report— Medicine  That  Was  Not  Bullet  Proof— An 
Era  of  Uncertainty  and  Lies — Two  Deeds  Determined  Upon 401 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

DEI  AY  AND  DISASTER. 

Waiting  for  Something  to  Turn  Up — Increased  Rations  Come  Too  Late — 
Depredations  by  the  Hostiles — A  Fruitless  Pow-Wow  at  Pine  Ridge 
— The  Indians  Fighting  Among  Themselves — Troops  Hurrying  onto  the 
Bad  Lands 410 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

CATASTROPHE. 

The  Killing  of  Sitting  Bull  and  the  Results  Thereof— Numerous  Affrays 
—A  Council  at  Pine  Ridge— Sitting  Bull's  Ghost— Big  Foot  and  His 
Men  Come  In — Arrest  of  a  Pretended  Messiah — Hemming  in  the  Hos 
tiles— The  Whole  Band  Captured 421 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

RED   WAR. 

Colonel  Forsyrhe  Takes  Command  at  Wounded  Knee — The  Indians  Sus 
picious  and  Uneasy — Preparations  to  Disarm  Them — A  Desperate  Out 
break — The  Indians  Outnumbered  and  Slaughtered  Without  Mercy — 
Incidents  of  the  Battle— Death  of  Captain  Wallace— List  of  the  Killed 
and  Wounded — Elaine  Goodale's  Report 435 

CHAPTER  XXX IV. 

FATHER  CRAFT  AND   HIS  WORK. 

A  Devoted  Priest — Descendant  of  a  Seneca  Chief  and  Successor  of  Spot 
ted  Tail  as  Chief  of  the  Brules— His  Interview  With  Red  Cloud- 
Arraignment  of  the  Government 458 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

AFTER  THE    BATTLE. 

A  Profound  Sensation  Caused — Varying  Comments  and  Prophecies — Alarm 
at  Pine  Ridge — List  of  the  Troops  in  Service — Murder  of  Lieut.  Casey 
—Agent  Royer  Removed— Red  Cloud's  Flight— The  Case  of  Col. 
Forsythe 472 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

DOUBT  AND   FEAR. 

Losing  Faith  in  Indian  Promises — Strange  Scenes  in  Church — A  Wagon 
Train  Attacked — A  Midnight  Pow-wow — Two  Dare-devil  Brules — The 
Fortifications  —  An  Unexpected  Advance  —  Much  Talk  But  Little 
Action 479 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

IN  AT  LAST. 

The  Hostiles  Come  to  Pine  Ridge — A  Motley  Procession — Their  Weapons 
Left  Behind,  Hidden  Away— What  the  Chiefs  Said— General  Miles's 
Generous  Conduct — Troops  Returning  Home — A  Delegation  of  Indians 
on  Their  Way  to  Washington — Letter  from  "  Buffalo  Bill." 494 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

WHO  SHALL  BE  THE  VICTIM  ? 

Discussion  of  the  Indian  Question  by  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Hare,  Missionary 
Bishop— How  the  Trouble  Was  Brought  About,  and  Who  Should  Be 
leld   Responsible   For   It — Reflections   Inspired   by  the    Conflict    at 
Wounded  Knee 507 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE  INDIAN   IN  CONGRESS. 

Starved  Into  Hostilities — Crime  Toward  the  Indians — Difficulty  With  the 
Indian  Service — Went  to  His  Grave  Through  Grief — The  Bane  and 
Curse  of  the  Indians — They  Have  Nothing  to  Eat — Go  Upon  the  War 
Path — Lack  of  Proper  Provisions — Accept  any  Proposition — The  Sioux 
are  Starving — Solving  the  Indian  Question — Most  Pious  Hy  ocrite— 
Propose  an  Investigation — Greatest  Indian  That  Has  Lived 519 

CHAPTER  XL. 

THE   INDIAN    BUREAU. 

Shall  It  Be  Under  Civil  or  Military  Control  ?— Record  of  the  Army  ? 
General  Grant's  Experiment — Improvements  in  Administration — Census 
of  the  Indians — Many  Indians  Civilized  and  Prosperous 537 

CHAPTER   XLL 

DOCUMENTS   IN   THE  CASE. 
General  Miles'  Address  to  His  Soldiers  on  the  Close  of  the  War — An 


CONTENTS. 

Official  Outline  of  the  Campaign — Regret  for  Fallen  Comrades- 
Thanks  for  Efficient  Service — Letters  from  a  Missionary  and  from  a 
Bishop 546 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

INDIAN  EDUCATION. 

Views  of  Captain  R.  H.  Pratt  of  the  Carlisle  Indian  School— Young 
Indians  educated  there  do  not  return  to  barbarism — Very  few  cases 
where  training  has  not  had  permanently  good  results — Growth  of 
civilization  among  the  Indians — Urgent  need  that  the  Tribal  system 
be  abolished 559 

CHAPTER  XLIII. 

WHAT  OF  THE  FUTURE. 

The  Causes  of  Indian  Discontent  and  the  Remedies  that  should  be  Ap- 

pliea  —Views  of  the  Indian  Rights  Association — An  Object  Lesson  from 

the  San  Carlos   Reservation — The  Chiricahua  Tribes — Swindling  the 

Indians — Character  of  the  Frontiersman — Family  Affection  Among  the 

dians — Lack  of  Appreciation  of  the  Power  of  the  Whites £08 

CHAP!  EH  XL1V. 

THE  WASHINGTOiN     CONFEKLJSCE. 

The  Indian  Leaders  Visit  Secretary  JNoble — The  Story  of  theii  Sufferings 
told  in  their  own  Simple  and  Graphic  Manner — Elopements  and 
Marriages  Among  the  Indians — Indian  Chiek  Declare  that  there  was 
Deliberate  Butchery  at  the  Battle  of  Wounded  Knee— A  Visit  to  ch? 
President  at  the  White  House....  «ip'8 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

SITTING  BULL, Frontispiece 

MAP  OF  THE  BAD  LANDS  AND  SCENE  OF  INDIAN  WAR,    15 

HORSE  RACING, 20 

CROW  FOOT,  SON  OF  SITTING  BULL, 37 

AT  His  INCANTATIONS, 56 

A  GROUP  OF  Sioux  CHIEFS, 73 

HOSTILES  ATTACKING  FRIENDLIES, 92 

MAJOR-GENERAL  SCHOFIELD,  U.  S.  A, 109 

INDIAN  PICTURE  OF  THE  CUSTER  FIGHT — THE  CAV 
ALRYMEN, 114 

SAME — THE  INDIANS,   ..." 115 

CUSTER'S  LAST  BATTLE, 128 

TEPEE  OF  SITTING  BULL, 145 

THE  GHOST  DANCE, 164 

GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES, 181 

DEATH  OF  SITTING  BULL, 200 

STANDING  HOLLY, 217 

WILD  GRASS  DANCE, 236 

STANDING  BUFFALO, 253 

JOHNSON — THE  ALLEGED  MESSIAH, 274 

THE  INDIAN  MESSIAH  CRAZE, 289 

CHIEF  BIG  JOSEPH, 


CONTENTS. 

Official  Outline  of  the  Campaign — Regret  for  Fallen  Comrades— 
Thanks  for  Efficient  Service — Letters  from  a  Missionary  and  from  a 
Bishop 546 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

INDIAN  EDUCATION. 

Views  of  Captain  R.  H.  Pratt  of  the  Carlisle  Indian  School — Young 
Indians  educated  there  do  not  return  to  barbarism — Very  few  cases 
where  training  has  not  had  permanently  good  results — Growth  of 
civilization  among  the  Indians — Urgent  need  that  the  Tribal  system 
be  abolished 559 

CHAPTER  XLIII. 

WHAT  OF  THE  FUTURE. 

The  Causes  of  Indian  Discontent  and  the  Remedies  that  should  be  Ap 
plied  —Views  of  the  Indian  Rights  Association — An  Object  Lesson  from 
the  San  Carlos   Reservation — The   Chiricahua  Tribes — Swindling  the 
Indians — Character  of  the  Frontiersman — Family  Affection  Among  the 
dians — Lack  of  Appreciation  of  the  Power  of  the  Whites 508 

CHAP1EK  XLiV. 
THE  WASHINGTON     CONFERENCE. 

The  Indian  Leaders  Visit  Secretary  l^oble — The  Story  of  their  Sufferings 
told  in  their  own  Simple  and  Graphic  Manner — Elopements  and 
Marriages  Among  the  Indians — Indian  Chiefs  Declare  that  there  was 
Deliberate  Butchery  at  the  Battle  of  Wounded  Knee — A  Visit  to  th* 
President  at  the  White  House....  ..-  «i?>8 


LIST  OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

SITTING  BULL, Frontispiece 

MAP  OF  THE  BAD  LANDS  AND  SCENE  OF  INDIAN  WAR,    15 

HORSE  RACING, 20 

CROW  FOOT,  SON  OF  SITTING  BULL, 37 

AT  His  INCANTATIONS, 56 

A  GROUP  OF  Sioux  CHIEFS, 73 

HOSTILES  ATTACKING  FRIENDLIES, 92 

MAJOR-GENERAL  SCHOFIELD,  U.  S.  A., 109 

INDIAN  PICTURE  OF  THE  CUSTER  FIGHT — THE  CAV 
ALRYMEN,    114 

SAME — THE  INDIANS,   ..." 115 

CUSTER'S  LAST  BATTLE, 128 

TEPEE  OF  SITTING  BULL, 145 

THE  GHOST  DANCE, 164 

GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES, 181 

DEATH  OF  SITTING  BULL, 200 

STANDING  HOLLY, 217 

WILD  GRASS  DANCE, 236 

STANDING  BUFFALO, 253 

JOHNSON — THE  ALLEGED  MESSIAH, 274 

THE  INDIAN  MESSIAH  CRAZE, 289 

CHIEF  BIG  JOSEPH, 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

TEPEE  OF  HEAD  Sioux  WARRIOR  AT  PINE   RIDGE 

AGENCY, 325 

THE  PINE  RIDGE  AGENCY, :    .    .    .  333 

OFFICERS  IN  THE  FIELD  AT  FORT  KEOGH, 344 

RATIONS  ISSUED  AT  PINE  RIDGE  AGENCY,    .....  347 

RED  CLOUD, 361 

INTERIOR  OF  RED  CLOUD'S  HOUSE, 370 

CHIEF  JOHN  GRASS, 380 

YOUNG-MAN-AFRAID-OF-HIS-HORSES 397 

WHITE  BEAVER  AND  BUFFALO  BILL, 416 

INTERIOR  OF  TENT  OF  LIEUT.  BROWN  AT  PINE  RIDGE 

AGENCY, 433 

THE  HANGING  OF  MOUNTAIN  MIKE, 452 

BUFFALO  BILL 469 

WHITE  THUNDER, 487 

WHITE  EAGLE, 504 

STANDING  BEAR, 524 

GROUP  OF  INDIAN  CHIEFS  WHO  VISITED  PRESIDENT 

HARRISON,  . 541 

DOG  DANCE  OF  THE  Sioux, 545 


I 


W      Y   ""5"~M 


CHAPTER  I. 

AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

A  UNIQUE  HISTORY  IN  PICTURES — THE  CHIEF'S  OWN  STORY  OF  His 
BLOODY  AND  LAWLESS  CAREER — KILLING  ENEMIES  AND  STEALING 
MULES — MANY  DIFFERENT  STORIES  OF  HIS  LIFE— WAS  HE  A  WEST 
POINT  GRADUATE  ? — STARTLING  THEORY  OF  AN  ARMY  OFFICER. 

Among  the.  countless  relics  and  records  in  the 
Army  Medical  Museum  at  Washington,  most  of 
them  ghastly  and  tragic  in  their  nature,  is  conspicu 
ous  the  Autobiography  of  Ta-tan-kah-yo-tan-kah, 
the  Sioux  chieftain  best  known  to  fame  as  Sitting 
Bull.  The  work  is  unique,  and  it  has  itself  a 
curious  history.  In  the  fall  of  1870,  a  Yankton 
Sioux  brought  to  the  army  officers  at  Fort  Buford 
•c*.n  old  roll-book  of  the  Thirty-first  Regiment  of 
Infantry,  U.  S.  A.,  which  bore,  on.  the  backs  of  the 
leaves,  originally  blank,  a  remarkable  series  of  por 
traitures,  representing  the  doings  of  a  mighty  Indian 
warrior.  The  pictures  were  outlined  in  ink,  and 
shaded  with  colored  chalks  and  pencils,  brown,  blue, 
and  red.  In  the  corner  of  each  picture  was  a 
"  totem,"  or  Indian  signature,  just  like  the  "  re- 
marque  "  on  an  etching.  This  totem  was  a  buffalo 


1 8  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 


bull  on  its  haunches,  and  it  revealed  at  once  the 
authorship  of  the  work.  The  Yankton  Indian 
wanted  to  sell  it,  and  finally  did  so,  for  one  dollar 
and  a  half,  confessing,  frankly,  that  he  had  stolen  it 
from  Sitting  Bull  himself,  whose  autobiography  it 
was,  down  to  date. 

This  literary  and  artistic  work,  which  is  now 
likely  to  be  famous,  fell  kito  the  hands  of  Assistant 
Surgeon  James  C.  Kimball,  of  the  army,  who  was 
then  stationed  at  Fort  Buford,  Dakota.  He  had  the 
pictures  translated  and  sent  them,  with  the  transla 
tion  and  an  index,  to  the  curator  of  the  Army  Medi 
cal  Museum,  Washington,  Surgeon  George  A.  Otis, 
United  States  Army,  who  filed  them,  in  book  shape, 
among  the  archives  of  the  museum.  The  introduc 
tion,  written  by  Dr.  Kimball,  says  that  the  auto 
biography  contains  a  description  of  the  principal 
adventures  in  the  life  of  Sitting  Bull,  an  Unk-pa  pa 
chief.  It  was  sketched  by  himself  in  the  picture 
language  in  common  use  with  the  Indians. 

The  index,  explanatory  of  the  drawings,  was  pre 
pared  through  the  assistance  of  Indians  and  inter 
preters.  The  word  "  coup,"  which  occurs  frequently 
in  the  index,  has  been  appropriated  by  the  Sioux 
from  the  French.  "  Counting  coup  "  signifies  the 
striking  of  an  enemy,  either  dead  or  alive,  with  a 
stick,  bow,  lance,  or  other  weapon.  The  number  of 
"coups"  counted  are  enumerated  along  with  the 
number  of  horses  stolen  and  scalps  taken  in  sum 
ming  up  the  brave  deeds  of  a  warrior.  Sitting 


LlPJS.    OF  SITTING  BULL.  21 

Bull  was  not  at  all  modest  in  recounting  his  deeds 
for  the  edification  of  posterity.  The  scalping  of  a 
soldier  and  the  theft  of  a  mule  are  pictured'  with 
equal  pride  and  with  an  equally  artistic  display  of 
pigments.  The  plates  are  enumerated  and  de 
scribed  in  the  index  as  follows : 

No.  i.  Sitting  Bull,  a  young  man  without  repu 
tation  and  therefore  wearing  no  feather,  engages  in 
his  first  battle  and  charges  his  enemy,  a  Crow 
Indian,  who  is  in  the  act  of  drawing  his  bow,  rides 
him  down  and  strikes  him  with  a  "coup  "  stick. 

Sitting  Bull's  autograph,  a  buffalo  bull  sitting  on 
his  haunches,  is  inscribed  over  him.  His  shield  sus 
pended  in  front  has  on  it  the  figure  of  an  eagle, 
which  he  considers  his  medicine,  in  the  Indian  sense 
of  the  term. 

No.  2.  Sitting  Bull,  wearing  a  war  bonnet,  is 
leader  of  a  war  party  who  take  a  party  of  Crows, 
consisting  of  three  women  and  a  man,sotompletely 
by  surprise  that  the  man  has  not  time  to  draw  his 
arrows  from  the  quiver.  Sitting  Bull  kills  one  wo 
man  with  his  lance  and  captures  another,  the  man 
meanwhile  endeavoring  to  drag  htm  from  the  horse, 
from  which  it  is  supposed  he  is  forced  to  destroy 
others  of  the  war  party. 

The  fate  of  Sitting  Bull  and  his  victims  is  given 
in  this  history. 

No.  3.  Sitting  Bull  pursuing  his  enemy,  a  Crow 
Indian,  whom  he  strikes  with  his  lance. 

No.  4.  Lances  a  Crow  woman. 


22  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL. 

No.  5.  Lances  a  Crow  Indian. 

No.  6.  Sitting  Bull  twice  wounded  and  unhorsed  ; 
his  enemy,  a  Crow,  at  length  killed  by  a  shot  in  the 
abdomen  and  his  scalp  taken  and  hung  to  Sitting 
Bull's  saddle. 

No.  7.  In  an  engagement  with  the  Crows,  Sitting 
Bull  mortally  wounds  one  of  the  enemy,  and,  drop 
ping  his  lance,  rides  up  and  strikes  him  with  his 
whip.  The  lines  and  dashes  in  the  picture  repre 
sent  the  arrows  and  bullets  that  were  flying  in  the 
air  during  the  combat. 

No.  8.  Counts  "  coup "  on  a  Gros  Ventre  de 
Prairie  by  striking  him  with  his  lance.  Gros  Ventre 
distinguished  from  Crow  by  manner  of  wearing  his 
hair. 

No.  9.  Lances  a  Crow  Indian. 

No.  10.  A  Crow  Indian  attempts  to  seize  Sitting 
Bull's  horse  by  the  bridle ;  Sitting  Bull  knocks  him 
down  with  a  "  coup  "  stick,  takes  his  scalp  and  hangs 
it  to  his  bridle. 

No.  ii.  Sitting  Bull,  with  his  brother  mounted 
behind  him,  kills  a  white  man,  a  soldier. 

No.  12.  Counts  "coup  "  on  a  white  man  by  hit 
ting  him  with  a  "  coup  "  stick. 

No.  13.  In  a  warm  engagement  with  the  whites, 
as  shown  by  the  bullets  flying  about,  Sitting  Bull 
shoots  an  arrow  through  the  body  of  a  soldier,  who 
turns  and  fires,  wounding  Sitting  Bull  in  the  hip. 

No.  14.  Sitting  Bull  counts  "coup"  on  a  white 
man  by  striking  him  with  his  bow.  Sitting  Bull 


LIFE    OF  SITTING   BULL.  23 

wears  a  red  jacket  and  bandanna  handkerchief 
taken  from  some  of  his  victims. 

Nos.  15  to  22  are  repetitions  of  No.  14,  Sitting 
Bull  in  each  counting  "coup  "  on  a  white  man. 

No.  23.  Sitting  Bull  shoots  a  frontiersman  wear 
ing  a  buckskin  shirt,  takes  his  scalp,  which  he  hangs 
to  his  own  bridle,  and  captures  his  horse.  Sitting 
Bull  wears  a  blanket. 

No.  24.  Sitting  Bull  strikes  a  white  soldier  with 
his  "  coup  "  stick,  takes  his  scalp  and  mule. 

No.  25  counts  "coup"  on  a  soldier  mounted, with 
overcoat  on,  gun  slung  across  his  back,  by  riding 
up  and  striking  him  with  his  riding-whip. 

No.  26.    Kills  a  white  man  and  takes  his  scalp. 

No.  27.    Captures  a  mule  and  a  scalp. 

No.  28.  In  a  warm  engagement  captures  a  horse 
and  a  scalp. 

No.  29.    Steals  a  mule. 

No.  30.    Captures  two  horses  in  action. 

No.  31.    Steals  a  horse. 

No.  32.  Steals  and  runs  off  a  drove  of  horses 
from  the  Crows. 

No.  33.  In  an  engagement  captures  a  govern 
ment  horse  and  mule  and  a  scalp. 

No.  34.    Steals  a  horse. 

No.  35.    Captures,  three  horses  and  a  scalp. 

No.  36.  Steals  a  drove  of  horses  from  the 
Crows. 

No.  37.    Steals  a  government  horse. 

No.  38.  Steals  a  drove  of  horses  from  the  Crows. 


24  LIFE    OF  SlTTi^J  BULL. 

No.  39.  In  an  engagement  captures  a  mule. 
Sitting  Bull  first  appears  here  as  chief  of  the  band 
of  Strong  Hearts,  to  which  dignity  his  prowess  had 
raised  him.  The  insignia  of  his  rank,  a  bow  having 
on  end  a  lance  head,  he  carries  in  his  hand. 

No.  40.  Sitting  Bull,  chief  of  the  band  of  Strong 
Hearts,  captures  two  horses  in  an  engagement,  in 
which  his  horse  is  wounded  in  the  shoulder. 

No.  41.  Captures  a  horse  in  a  fight. 

No.  42.  Steals  a  mule. 

No.  43.  Captures  two  horses  in  a  fight,  in  which 
his  horse  is  wounded  in  the  leg. 

No.  44.  Mounted  on  a  government  horse  cap 
tures  a  white  man. 

No.  45.  Steals  two  horses. 

No.  46.  Captures  four  mules  in  a  fight,  in  which 
his  horse  is  wounded  in  the  hip. 

Nos.  47  and  48.     Counts  "coup  "  on  white  men. 

No.  49.  Steals  a  government  horse, 

No.  50.  Fastens  his  horse  to  his  lance,  driven  into 
the  earth,  and  in  a  hand-to-hand  fight  kills  a  white 
man  with  his  own  gun.  The  black  marks  show  the 
ground  fought  and  trampled  over. 

No.  51.  A  fort  into  which  his  enemies,  the  Crows, 
have  retreated,  and  from  which  they  maintain  a  hot 
fire,  through  which  Sitting  Bull  charges  the  fort. 

No.  52.  In  a  fight  with  Crows,  Sitting  Bull  kills 
and  scalps  one  Indian  and  counts  "  coup  "  on  an 
other,  and  fires  at  him,  barely  missing  him. 

No.  53,  Steals  a  drove  of  mules. 


LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL.  25 

No.  54.  Sitting  Bull,  at  the  head  of  his  band, 
charges  into  a  camp  of  Crows  and  kills  thirty  of 
them.  This  happened  in  the  winter  of  1869—70. 

No.  55.  Kills  one  Crow  and  counts  "  coup  "on 
two  others,  who  run  from  him  disgracefully. 

Such  was  the  self-told  story  of  this  red  desperado's 
career  down  to  the  summer  of  1870,  and  in  it  he 
doubtless  did  himself  no  injustice.  Rather  was  his 
life  more  venturesome  and  lawless  than  even 
that  criminal  calendar  would  indicate.  Since  the 
establishment  of  Fort  Buford,  in  1866,  Sitting 
Bull,  at  the  head  of  from  sixty  to  seventy  warriors, 
had  been  the  terror  of  mail-carriers,  wood-choppers 
and  small  parties  in  the  vicinity  of  the  post,  and  from 
100  to  200  miles  from  it  either  way,  up  and  down 
the  Missouri  River.  During  the  time  from  1866  to 
1870,  when  the  biography  was  written,  this  band 
had  several  times  captured  and  destroyed  the  mail, 
and  had  stolen  and  run  off  over  200  head  of  cattle 
and  killed  near  a  score  of  white  men  in  the  immedi 
ate  vicinity  of  the  fort. 

Despite  this  autobiograohy,  however,  the  origin 
and  early  life  of  Sitting  Bull  are  involved  in  much 
of  mystery.  Many  different  stories  have  been  told 
concerning  him,  and  he  has  himself  told  the  story  of 
his  early  years  on  various  occasions  in  various  ver 
sions.  Once  he  said  : 

"  I  was  born  near  old  Fort  George,  on  Willow 
Creek,  below  the  mouth  of  the  Cheyenne  River. 
Cannot  tell  exactly  how  old  I  am.  We  count  our 


26  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL. 

• 

years  from  the  moons  between  great  events.  The 
event  from  which  I  date  my  birth  is  the  year  in 
which  Thunder  Hawk  was  born.  I  have  always 
been  running  around.  Indians  that  remain  on  the 
same  hunting  grounds  all  the  time  can  remember 
years  better.  I  have  nine  children  and  two  living 
wives  and  one  wife  that  has  gone  to  the  Great 
Spirit.  I  have  two  pairs  of  twins.  I  think  as  much 
of  one  as  the  other.  If  I  did  not  I  would  not  keep 
them.  I  believe  if  I  had  a  white  wife  I  would  think 
more  of  her  than  the  other  two.  My  father's  name 
was  The  Jumping  Bull,  and  he  was  a  chief.  At  the 
age  of  fourteen  I  killed  an  enemy  and  began  to 
make  myself  great  in  battle  and  became  a  chief. " 

Again,  in  1877,  after  the  Custer  massacre,  and 
while  he  was  in  the  British  territory  for  safety,  a 
correspondent  wrote  as  follows  concerning  the 
famous  chief: 

"  The  mystery  that  has  hitherto  shrouded  the  per 
son  of  the  great  Sioux  warrior  has  been  removed. 
In  conversation  after  dinner  with  one  of  the  police 
officers,  the  other  day  he  said  that  he  was  a  native 
of  Fort  Garry,  and  an  alumnus  of  St.  John's  College 
there — statements  which  he  himself  afterward  con 
firmed.  Several  old  traders  who  have  had  a  look 
at  him  declare  that  they  remember  him  well  as 
Charlie  Jacobs,  a  half-breed,  who  attended  the 
college  in  its  infancy  thirty  years  ago.  This  young 
Jacobs  was  of  Ojibway  birth,  and  was  a  remark 
ably  intelligent  lad,  with  ambition  to  become  a  '  big 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  2J 

Injun/  He  disappeared  from  Fort  Garry  about  1853. 

"  When  asked  by  the  police  officer  if  he  recol 
lected  anything  about  Fort  Garry,  Sitting  Bull 
laughed  heartily  and  said  he  knew  the  principal 
people  there,  among  others  Donald  A.  Smith,  the 
Hudson  Bay  factor;  James  Sutherland,  and  Father 
Vary,  now  a  missionary  at  the  Sault.  He  was  also 
well  acquainted  with  the  late  James  Ross,  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Riel-Lepine  Government  in  1869-70; 
indeed,  he  says,  they  were  boys  together.  Ross 
was  a  half-breed,  who,  after  graduating  at  St.  John's 
College,  went  to  Toronto  University,  where  he  was 
a  gold  medalist.  Sitting  Bull  says  his  father,  Henry 
Jacobs,  was  at  one  time  employed  as  interpreter  by 
Father  Proulx  on  Manitoulin  Island,  but  whether 
the  old  gentleman  is  dead  or  not  he  does  not  know. 
Sitting  Bull  is  thoroughly  familiar  with  French  and 
English  and  several  Indian  languages.  He  is  about 
forty-two  or  forty-three  years  of  age,  a  medium- 
sized,  athletic-built  man,  of  no  distinguishing  traits 
beyond  those  always  found  in  the  half-breed.  He 
is  an  excellent  conversationalist,  and  will  talk  on 
every  subject  but  his  plans  for  the  future." 

Captain  McGarry,  of  an  Upper  Missouri  steam 
boat,  knew  Sitting  Bull  well  for  many  years,  and 
in  August,  1876,  gave  this  account  of  him: 

"Sitting  Bull    is   a    Teton-Sioux,    and   is  thirty* 

A  ROMAN  CATHOLIC. 

five  years  old.    He  is  a  Roman  Catholic  convert,  and 
said  to  be  a  firm  believer  in  all  the  tenets  of  that 


28  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

church.  He  was  convertd  by  Father  de  Smet.  By 
this  priest  he  was  taught  French,  and  he  is  able  to 
read  and  speak  that  tongue  with  fluency.  He  has 
always  doggedly  refused  to  learn  English.  He  is 
well  versed  in  the  Delaware  language  also,  and  is 
pronounced  by  the  native  tribes  a  greater  orator 
than  Little  Pheasant,  chief  of  the  Yanktonnais. 
Sitting  Bull  has  read  French  history  carefully,  and 

APEING  NAPOLEON. 

he  is  especially  enamored  of  the  career  of  Napo 
leon,  and  endeavors  to  model  his  campaigns  after 
those  of  the  "Man  of  Destiny."  In  1868  Sitting 
Bull  became  a  chief.  Previously  he  had  been  re 
pudiated  by  the  other  chiefs,  and  had  been  for 
several  years  a  malcontent  and  at  variance  with  the 
other  chiefs  of  the  Sioux  nation,  often  coming  into 
open  conflict  with  them.  After  he  contemplated 
his  present  war  with  the  whites  his  ranks  were  filled 
by  hundreds  of  young  braves,  who  were  seduced 
into  revolt  by  his  persuasive  eloquence.  At  length 
the  other  chiefs  deemed  it  policy  to  recognize  him, 
and  from  that  moment  his  supremacy  was  insured. 
Every  summer,  for  years,  he  has  been  North  into 
the  country  of  the  Assiniboins  and  Crees,  and  the 
acquaintance  and  friendship  which  he  cultivated 
there  are  ripening  into  a  harvest/' 

About  the  same  time  a  well-known  resident  of 
Manitoba,  made  another  contribution  to  the  history 
of  Sitting  Bull.  He  described  him  as  a  Sac  or  Fox, 
and  not  a  Sioux  at  all.  He  attended,  says  this  his- 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  2  9 

torian,  the  school  at  Fort  Garry,  when  a  young  man, 
having  moved  thither  from  Prairie  du  Chien.  He 
acquired  a  good  education,  especially  in  French,  and 
was  noted  as  a  superb  marksman  with  pistol  or 
rifle.  While  in  Manitoba,  his  great  object  in  life 
seemed  to  be  the  establishment  of  a  great  Indian 
commonwealth,  governed  exclusively  by  abori 
gines  or  half-breeds.  In  the  summer  of  1869,  he 
made  a  proposition  to  Louis  Riel,  looking  to 
the  establishment  of  an  independent  province 
either  on  British  or  Canadian  soil,  stating  at 
the  same  time  that  he  could  obtain  money  from 
London  and  through  the  Hudson  Bay  company, 
in  support  of  such  a  governmental  enterprise.  He 

INTRIGUING  WITH  REIL. 

told  Reil  that  he  would  stand  at  his  back  with  5,000 
Sioux  warriors,  if  he  would  only  enter  into  an 
agreement  providing  that  none  but  Indian  and  half 
breed  officers  should  be  chosen  to  govern  his  pro 
posed  independent  province.  This  proposition  was 
declined  by  Reil  on  the  ground  that  the  church 
authorities  of  Manitoba  would  refuse  any  sanc 
tion  to  the  programme,  being  opposed  to  an 
independent  principality  in  Northern  America. 
Nor  does  this  conclude  the  catalogue  of  conflicting 
records.  An  army  officer,  in  the  summer  of  1876, 
propounded  the  startling  inquiry,  ''Is  Sitting  Bull 
a  West  Point  graduate?"  "This  question,"  he 
continued,  "  is  asked  in  sober  earnest,  with  the 
view  of  eliciting  information,  there  being  reasons 


30  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

for  believing  that  this  formidable  warrior  and  so- 
called  savage,  now  occupying  so  much  of  public 
attention,  from  the  unquestioned  skill  and  extra 
ordinary  courage  with  which  he  has  met  our  sol- 

GRADUATE  OF  WEST  POINT. 

diers,  is  really  a  graduate  of  the  Military  Academy. 
There  may  be  some  foundation  for  the  reports  as 
to  his  reading  French  and  being  familiar  with  the 
campaigns  of  the  great  Napoleon.  Graduates  of 
West  Point,  between  1846  and  1850,  will  remember 
the  new  cadet  of  both  singular  and  remarkable  ap 
pearance,  hailing  from  the  western  borders  of  Mis 
souri,  who  reported  for  duty  in  1845,  1846  or  1847. 
Above  medium  height,  apparently  between  eigh 
teen  and  twenty  years  old,  heavy  set  frame,  long, 
bushy  hair,  growing  close  to  his  brow  and  over 
hanging  his  neck  and  shoulders,  his  face  covered 
with  thin  patches  of  fuzzy  beard,  the  general  get-up 
of  this  plebe  was  such  as  to  cause  the  old  cadets  to 
hesitate  in  the  heretical  jokes  usually  played  off  on 
new  cadets.  Nicknames  are  often  applied  to 
cadets  that  they  carry  with  them  among  their  friends 
into  the  army,  and  even  to  their  graves.  The  thick 
neck,  broad  shoulders,  and  long,  bushy  hair,  caused 

NICKNAMED   "BISON." 

the  name  of  "  Bison  "  to  be  applied  to  this  new 
comer,  and  it  adhered  to  him  ever  afterward.  The 
West  Point  course  he  learned  with  ease,  graduating 
in  the  upper  third  of  his  class.  He  had  no  disposi 
tion  to  be  social,  kept  to  himself,  talked  but  little 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  31 

and  was  never  known  to  either  smile  or  laugh. 
During  hours  of  recreation  he  did  not  mingle  with 
his  classmates,  but  was  often  seen  in  solitary  walks 
around  the  plain  or  scaling  the  neighboring  moun 
tains,  even  to  their  very  summits.  He  was  often 
out  of  his  quarters  after  night,  eluding  successfully 
the  vigilance  of  sentinels  and  officers,  visiting  the 
neighboring  villages  in  quest  of  strong  drink,  but 
never  seen  under  its  influence  until  he  had  graduated. 
4 'This  remarkable  character  passed  his  graduat 
ing  examination  creditably,  received  his  diploma, 
but  before  doffing  the  cadet  gray,  visited  the  village 
of  Buttermilk  Falls,  below  West  Point  a  short  dis 
tance,  got  intoxicated  and  became  involved  in  a 
broil,  in  which  stones  and  sticks  were  used  freely. 

IN  A   DRUNKEN  BROIL. 

Several  of  the  participants  were  badly  hurt,  and  the 
Bison  himself  much  bruised.  This  conduct  was  re 
garded  as  so  unbecoming  and  discreditable  that  on 
the  recommendation  of  the  academic  board  he  was 
refused  a  commission  in  the  army.  He  was  heard 
of  three  times  after  leaving  the  academy,  once  at 
Galveston,  Texas.  There  he  had  a  terrible  fight 
with  some  desperadoes,  and  was  forced  to  leave. 
He  was  next  seen  on  one  of  the  California  steamers, 
and  going  upon  the  western  coast  he  got  into  an 
altercation  with  the  officers  of  the  steamer,  and  was 
placed  under  guard  down  in  the  hold,  and  made  to 
work.  The  third  and  last  time,  as  far  as  we  know, 
he  was  seen  and  recognized  under  the  following 


3?  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

circumstances;  In  1858,  about  ten  years  after  the 
Bison  had  graduated,  Lieutenant  Ives,  of  the  Topo 
graphical  Engineer  Corps,  was  engaged  in  making 
an  exploration  and  survey  of  the  Colorado  River, 
emptying  into  the  Gulf  of  California.  While  engaged 
in  this  work  he  would  quite  often  leave  his  boat  in 
the  afternoon  and  go  on  shore  and  bivouac  till  morn 
ing.  On  one  of  these  occasions  a  party  of  Mohave 
Indians  came  into  his  camp,  and  after  talking  some 
time  in  Spanish,  the  chief  says,  in  English,  "Ives, 
do  you  know  me?"  The  Lieutenant  was  startled  at 
hearing  his  name  called  so  distinctly  in  English  by 
this  naked  and  painted-face  chief;  he  replied  that  he 
did  not,  and  asked  the  chief  where  he  had  learned 
to  speak  English  so  well.  The  chief  replied : 
"Never  mind  that,  but  do  you  know  me,  Ives?" 
The  Lieutenant  scanned  closely  the  huge  painted 
chief,  with  feathers  in  head,  rings  through  his  nose 
and  ears,  and  again  answered  he  did  not,  and  again 
asked  the  chief  where  he  had  learned  English,  and 
how  did  it  happen  that  he  knew  him.  The  chief  re 
plied  that  he  did  not  wonder  at  his  not  knowing  him, 
as  his  change  of  nationality  had  brought  with  it  a 
great  change  in  habits,  dress  and  appearance,  and 
then  added :  "lam  the  Bison;  we  were  together 
at  West  Point.  I  have  with  this  little  party  been 
watching  you  for  several  days.  My  band  wanted  to 

WANTED  TO  KILL  HIM. 

kill  you  and  your  little  party,  but  I  told  them  we  had 
better  wait  and  see,  and  try  and  talk  ;  that  we  might 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  33 

do  better  than  kill  you.  I  have  made  them  under 
stand  that  after  you  have  left  and  gone  back  trade 
will  spring  up,  and  we  can  then  do  better  by  trading 
or  robbing  the  boats  loaded  with  goods  and  supplies 
of  all  kinds."  The  Indians  retired  and  were  seen 
no  more,  nor  did  I  bivouac  on  land,  any  more.  A 
year  or  two  before  this,  Captain  Lyon  (killed  in  the 
late  war)  of  the  army,  had  a  desperate  fight  with  the 
Indians  on  an  island  in  the  Cojorado  River,  the  Indi 
ans  supposed  to  have  been  commanded  by  the  Bison. 
He  was  successful  for  years  in  raiding  on  the  settle 
ments  and  extending  as  far  off  as  Arizona.  It  may 
be,  and  we  think  it  probable,  with  the  settlements 
extending  from  the  West  to  the  East,  and  from 
East  to  West,  and  the  Indian  area  diminishing  con 
stantly,  that  this  Indian  chief  may  have  gone  as  far 
North  as  the  Black  Hills,  and  may  be  even  the  veri> 
table  Sitting  Bull,  for  to  the  close  observer,  Sitting 
Bull  has  shown  as  much  skill  and  judgment  as  any 
educated  civilized  soldier  could  have  done.  It  would 
not  be  strange  if  Sitting  Bull  proves  to  have  been 
educated  at  West  Point,  and  it  seems  to  us  probable 
that  such  is  the  case." 

To  this  remarkable  story  the  following  was  added 
by  another  West  Pointer: 

"  Bison  "  McLean  was  a  cadet  at  West  Point  from 
Missouri  from  1844  to  1848,  and  stood  well  intellect- 
iially  in  a  large  and  bright  class.  His  diploma  was 
refused  him  when  his  class  graduated  in  1 848,  he, 
having  been  convicted  before  a  court-martial  of  dis- 


34  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL. 

honorable  conduct.     During  the  Summer  of  1852  I 

JOINING  THE  INDIANS. 

met  him  in  New  Mexico.  He  had  joined  the  Gila 
Apache  Indians,  had  been  adopted  into  the  tribe, 
and  had  with  him  a  wife  or  two  from  among  the 
squaws.  At  this  meeting  he  declared  to  me  that  he 
would  never  forget  nor  forgive  the  injustice  and  in 
juries  he  conceived  he  had  received  from  his  class 
mates  and  the  academic  authorities  at  West  Point.  If 
"Bison"  McLean  is  living  he  is  forty-nine  or  fifty 
years  old.  In  character  he  is  strong  and  rugged. 
His  nature  is  untamed  and  licentious,  his  courage 
superb,  and  his  physical  qualities  almost  herculean, 
except  in  size.  He  is  fair-complexioned,  light  color 
ed  hair,  very  full-bearded  and  hairy-bodied  man, 
with  a  large  head,  and  bold,  irregular,  full  face.  His 
height  is  five  feet  ten  or  eleven  inches,  and  twenty- 
four  years  ago  he  would  have  weighed  about  175  or 
1 80  pounds. 

"When  a  cadet  there  was  no  disguise  he  would 

HAZARDOUS  NATURE. 

not  assume  and  no  hazard  he  would  not  venture  for 
the  gratification  of  his  appetites.  He  never  used 
strong  drink  when  I  knew  him,  and  notwithstanding 
the  great  circumspection  and  vigilance  of  West 
Point  authority,  he  thwarted  it  until  the  very  end  of 
his  career  at  that  institution,  and  was  then  brought 
to  grief  by  the  testimony  of  his  own  classmates, 
against  whose  watchfulness  he  had  perhaps  taken 
no  precaution.  Such  a  man,  after  near  thirty  years 


AAD   THE  L\DIAN  WAR  %  35 

or  experience  among  the  savages,  might  well  fill  the 
position  of  Sitting-  Bull.  While  he  was  a  cadet, 
under*"  the  cloak  of  a  false  marriage,  he  ruined  a 

o     ' 

pretty  girl,  Effie  Conklin,  who  lived  at  Buttermilk 
Falls,  a  mile  or  two  below  West  Point.'* 

This  startling  theory,  however,  was  generally  dis 
credited.  A  correspondent  writing  from  Huntsville, 
Mo.,  to  The  St.  Louis  Republican,  thus  inveighed 
against  it : 

"  Bison,  as  he  was  known  at  West  Point,  was 
born  and  raised  in  this  (Randolph)  county.  He  was 
of  highly  respectable  parentage.  A  nephew  of 
John  McLean,  once  a  U.  S.  senator  from  Illinois, 
and  brother  of  Finis  M.  McLean,  a  prominent  citi 
zen  of  this  county.  He  entered  West  Point  about 
the  year  1 846,  and,  I  think,  graduated  in  the  class  of 
which  Stonewall  Jackson  was  a  member.  He  (Bison) 
was  killed  by  Indians  near  Tubac,  Arizona,  about 
the  year  1870.  A  gentleman  then  living  in  Tucson, 
Arizona,  who  had  formerly  lived  here,  and  who 
knew  Bison  here  and  there,  informed  his  relatives 
of  his  death,  and  sent  them  what  money  he  left. 
Lieut.  Hall  of  the  Fifth  cavalry,  who  was  with  Crook 
in  Arizona,  and  now  with  him,  and  who  is  well  ac 
quainted  with  Bison's  relatives  here,  confirms  the 
statements  received  by  his  relatives  of  his  death  and 
the  manner  of  his  death.  Of  Bison  I  suppose  it 
may  be  said  that  his  greatest  fault  was  that  of  hav- 

VIOLENT  TEMPER. 

ing  an  ungovernable  temper,  which  he  knew,   and 


36  I'fFX  01'  SITTING  BULL 

which  no  doubt  led  him  to  pass  his  life  beyond  the 
confines  of  civilization.  It  was  through  the  influ 
ence  of  Senator  Benton  that  he  received  the  appoint 
ment  as  a  cadet  to  West  Point,  though  his  father, 
Charles  McLean,  was  a  zealous  Whig.  As  to  who 
Sitting  Bull  is,  the  writer  of  this  does  not  know. 
But  certain  it  is  that  he  is  not  Bison." 


CROW  FOOT.— Son  of  Sitting  Bull. 


CHAPTER  II. 

MEDICINE    MAN    AND    WARRIOR. 

THE  TRUE  STORY  OF  SITTING  BULL'S  LIFE — SON  OF  A  RICH  CHIEF — 
A  BUFFALO  HUNTER  AT  TEN  YEARS  OLD — His  THREE  WIVES  AND 
NINE  CHILDREN,  INCLUDING  TWINS — How  HE  GAINED  SUPREME 
SWAY  AMONG  THE  Sioux — WHAT  IT  is  TO  BE  A  MEDICINE  MAN. 

The  fragmentary  and  often  contradictory  narra 
tives  rehearsed  in  the  foregoing  chapter  contain 
much  fiction  and  some  fact.  The  general  concen 
sus  of  opinion  now  is  that  Sitting  Bull  was  born  at 
a  camp  on  Willow  Creek,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Cheyenne  River,  and  near  old  Fort  George,  about 
1830.  He  was  the  son  of  Jumping  Bull,  a  Sioux 
chief,  and  a  nephew  of  Four  Horns  and  Hunting 
His  Lodge,  who  were  also  chiefs.  His  father  was, 
for  an  Indian,  a  wealthy  man,  and  was  "  the  owner 
of  a  great  many  ponies  in  four  colors."  Although 
not  destined  to  be  a  warrior,  Sitting  Bull,  who  was 
at  first  called  Sacred  Standshot,  soon  became  a 
famous  hunter.  At  ten  years  old  he  was  famous 
all  through  the  tribe  as  a  killer  of  buffalo  calves. 
As  his  father  was  rich  and  did  not  need  the  meat, 
the  boy  gave  away  all  the  game  he  killed  to  the 

39 


4O  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

poorer  members  of  the  tribe,  and  thus  gained  great 

A  HUNTER  AT  THIRTEEN. 

popularity.  When  he  was  thirteen  years  old  his 
father  died,  and  he  thereupon  "  killed  buffaloes  and 
fed  his  people."  The  next  year  he  fought  with  and 
killed  a  young  Indian  a  few  years  older  than  him 
self,  and  his  name  was  then  changed  to  Lame  Bull 
or  Sitting  Bull,  on  account  of  a  wound  which  he 
then  received,  which  made  him  permanently  lame. 

Before  he  reached  his  fifteenth  year  Sitting  Bull 
began  to  develop  those  traits  which  afterward  made 
him  a  terror  to  the  white  settlers  of  the  frontier. 
He  is  described  by  an  old  Western  scout  as  a  boy 
of  rather  stocky  appearance,  not  "  straight  as  an 
arrow  "  like  the  traditional  Indian,  and  not  given  to 
any  of  those  boyish  sports  which  Fennimore  Coop 
er  has  set  up  as  a  standard.  He  was  lazy  and  vic 
ious,  and  never  told  the  truth  when  a  lie  would 
•serve  better.  But  with  all  these  traits  he  was  fear 
less  under  all  circumstances,  a  magnificent  rider,  an 
accurate  shot,  and  capable  of  enduring  an  extraor 
dinary  amount  of  fatigue.  As  he  approached  2 1 

A  CRUEL  NATURE. 

the  cruelty  of  his  nature  became  more  marked,  but 
he  did  nothing  to  indicate  that  he  had  in  him  the 
making  of  one  of  the  representative  men  of  his 
race. 

He  was  three  times  married,  one  of  his  wives  dy 
ing  soon  after  the  wedding.  The  other  two  wives 
were  named  She  That  Was  Seen  by  the  Nation,  and 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  41 

She  That  Had  Four  Robes.  They  bore  in  all  nine 
children,  including  a  pair  of  twins — a  most  unusual 
thing  among  Indians.  When,  after  the  Custer  mas 
sacre,  Sitting  Bull  at  last  surrendered  at  Fort  Bu- 
ford,  one  of  his  sons,  a  young  man  of  18,  was  at 
school  -in  Chicago.  Another,  a  boy  of  six  years,  was 
with  the  chief,  and  at  the  formal  pow-wow  the  chief 
put  his  heavy  rifle  in  the  little  fellow's  hands  and  or 
dered  him  to  give  it  to  Major  Brotherton,  saying: 

SURRENDERING  HIS  RIFLE. 

"  I  surrender  this  rifle  to  you  through  my  young 
son,  whom  I  now  desire  to  teach  in  this  way  that  he 
has  become  a  friend  of  the  whites.  I  wish  him  to 
live  as  the  whites  do  and  be  taught  in  their  schools. 
I  wish  to  be  remembered  as  the  last  man  of  my  tribe 
who  gave  up  his  rifle.  This  boy  has  now  given  it  to 
you,  and  he  wants  to  know  how  he  is  going  to  make 
a  living." 

Sitting  Bull  is  commonly  thought  of  as  a  warrior. 
In  point  of  fact  he  was  not.  He  was  a  "  medicine 
man ;"  which  means  that  he  included  within  himself 
the  three  professions  of  the  priesthood,  medicine  and 
law.  He  inherited  from  his  father  the  chieftanship 
of  a  part  of  the  Sioux  tribe.  But  his  remarkable 
ascendancy  over  the  whole  tribe  or  nation  was  due 

A  MIRACLE  WORKER. 

to  his  miracle-working  and  to  his  talents  as  a  politic- 

.  ian.     He  played  upon  the  credulity  of  the  Sioux 

with  his  "  medicine"  or  pretended  miracles,    until 

they  believed  him  to  possess  supernatural  powers, 


42  Z£E#  OF  SITTING  BULL 

and  were  ready  to  follow  his  lead  in  everything. 
Some.other  chiefs  inherited  wider  authority,  such  as 
Red  Cloud  and  Crazy  Horse,  and  some  minor  chiefs 
were  inclined  now  and  then  to  dispute  his  sway, 
such  as  Gall,  Rain-in-the-face,  and  Broad  Trail.  But 
when  Sitting  Bull  made  an  appeal  to  the  religious 
fanaticism  of  the  people,  there  was  no  withstanding 
him.  To  the  day  of  his  death  he  was  the  principal 
chief  of  all  the  Sioux  and  leader  of  6,000  braves, 
who  at  all  times  were  ready  at  his  command  to  com 
mit  any  crime  from  murder  up  or  down.  As  a  med- 

CONTROL  OF  THE  SQUAWS. 

icine  man  he  had  the  squaws  of  his  tribe  abjectly 
subservient,  and  through  them  was  assisted  in  main 
taining*  control  of  the  bucks. 

o 

"  Just  what  sort  of  a  man  a  "  medicine  man  "  is, 
not  many  people  are  prepared  to  say.  Even  those 
who  have  traveled  in  the  Indian  country  have  not 
the  most  definite  ideas.  As  explained  by  a  well- 
versed  writer  in  The  New  York  Sun,  every  tribe  has 
many  of  these  personages,  some  of  them  chiefs,  and 
all  important  men.  They  may  be  either  young  or 
old  ;  and  they  are  the  leaders  in  all  religious  and 
social  functions.  No  one  can  visit  any  Indians  at 
any  festival  time,  or  time  of  general  excitement  from 
any  cause,  without  seeipg  the  medicine  men  figuring 
very  conspicuously  in  whatever  is  going  on.  Some 
times  they  are  merely  beating  drums,  or  perhaps 
they  are  only  crooning,  while  a  dance  or  feast  is  in 
progress.  At  other  times  they  appear  in  the  most 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  43 

grotesque  costumes,  painted  all  over,  hung  with 
feathers  and  tails  and  claws,  and  carrying  some 
wand  or  staff,  gorgeous  with  color,  and  smothered 
with  Indian  finery. 

The  term  medicine  is  a  white  man's  expression 
which  the  Indians  have  adopted.  It  was  applied  to 
the  priests  of  the  tribes — for  that  is  what  they  really 
are — because  the  first  white  men  often  found  them 
making  their  incantations  at  the  side  of  the  sick,  the 
wounded,  or  the  dying.  'In  reality  they  were  exor- 

EXORCISING  EVIL  SPIRITS. 

cising  the  evil  spirits  of  disease  or  death,  but  the 
white  travelers,  seeing  them  in  the  presence  of  the 
sick,  put  two  and  two  together  and  called  them 
medicine  men.  The  term  is  two  centuries  old,  and 
the  Indians  have  so  fully  adopted  it  that  when  one  of 
these  officials  is  at  his  offices  they  say  he  is  "  mak 
ing  medicine." 

The  medicine-man  is  a  conjurer,  a  magician,  a 
dealer  in  magic,  and  an  intermediary  between  the 
men  of  this  world  and  the  spirits  of  the  other.  He 
may  know  something  of  the  rude  pharmacopoeia  of 
his  fellows,  and  may  prescribe  certain  leaves  or 
roots  to  allay  fever,  to  arrest  a  cold,  or  to  heal  a 
wound.  That  is  not  his  business,  however,  and  such 
prescriptions  are  more  apt  to  be  offered  by  th£ 
squaws  or  by  any  member  of  the  patient's  family. 

FEELING  FOR  THE   DYING. 

The  medicine-man's  work  comes  in  when  medicine 
fails,  and  it  is  pursued  until  death  is  seen  to  be  cer- 


44  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

tain,  when — among  most  of  the  tribes — the  sick  or 
wounded  man  is  abandoned  to  meet  his  fate.  Far 
from  thinking  the  only  good  Indian  is  a  dead  one, 
the  Indians  themselves  have  little  regard  for  one  who 
is  half  dead  or  seems  certain  to  die. 

In  the  Spring  of  1890  as  many  medicine  men  as 
could  crowd  into  a  tepee  of  the  largest  size,  beat 
their  tomtoms  and  rattled  their  gourds  all  day  and 
night  for  nearly  a  week  to  save  the  life  of  a  dying 
plain  chieftain,  and  then,  as-  he  seemed  to  get  worse, 
deliberately  withdrew  from  the  tepee  and  turned  the 
chief  over  to  the  ministrations  of  a  Roman  Catholic 
priest,  whom  they  had  excluded  while  they  thought 
the  man  might  live.  They  secured  the  best  horse 
the  old  man  had,  and,  leading  it  to  the  side  of  the 
tent,  shot  it  through  the  head,  that  its  carcass  might 
be  buried  with  him.  Then  they  engaged  in  the  pol 
itics  of  the  situation  and  made  themselves  warmly 
friendly  in  the  eyes  of  the  heir  apparent  to  the  lead 
ership,  The  old  chief  lived  two  or  three  days  and 
was  dosed  with  the  physics  of  both  the  whites  and 
red  men.  He  begged  for  more  "medicine,"  but 
the  Conjurors  had  diagnosed  his  case  and  decided  it 
to  be  a  waste  of  time  to  bother  the  spirits  any  long 
er  in  his  behalf. 

•  A  WEIRD   SIGHT. 

No  more  weird  sight  is  to  be  seen  on  the  face  of 
this  continent  than  a  view  of  such  a  group  of  medi 
cine  men  at  work  to  save  a  life.  Seen  at  night  the 
effect  is  awesome.  They  sit  in  a  circle,  broken  only 


,  AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  45 

by  the  body  of  the  invalid  stretched  on  a  blanket,  at 
the  head  of  the  tent  opposite  the  door  or  tent  open 
ing.  The  wavering  light  is  from  a  candle  stuck  in 
geniously  in  a  loop  of  birch  bark,  fastened  tight  in  a 
slit  in  the  end  of  a  stick  that  has  been  thrust  in  the 
earth.  The  medicine  men  are  painted  in  their  own 
colors,  green  and  yellow  predominating.  They  are 
in  full  regalia,  but  their  hair  falls  over  their  hideous 
faces  as  they  bend  forward  to  swing  to  and  fro  or  to 

HIDEOUS   ORGIES. 

beat  their  drums.  All  are  singing.  Often  they  sing 
only  the  tunes  of  ancient  songs,  the  words  being 
forgotten  or  having  grown  tiresome.  Now  and  then 
one  leaps  to  his  feet,  waving  his  befeathered  rattle 
and  yelling  louder  than  the  others.  He  sings  the 
words  that  occur  to  him  as  suiting  the  case.  He 
has  on  no  clothing  but  moccasins  and  a  breech-clout, 
or  " gee-string,"  as  they  call  that  garment  on  the 
plains. 

His  thin,  bony,  bare  red  legs  have  the  effect  of 
their  nakedness  increased  by  the  jumping,  dangling 
tail  of  feathers  that  flutters  down  from  his  head  and 
mixed  its  colors  with  the  paint  stripes  on  his  flesh. 
His  dancing  is  rather  more  like  pounding  something 
beneath  him  than  like  what  we  call  dancing.  He 
lifts  his  feet  by  bending  his  knees  ;  lifts  them  and 
thumps  them  down  monotonously,  though  he  turns 
his  body  first  to  one  side  and  then  to  the  other. 
When  the  dancer  tired  and  fell  back  in  his  place  in 
the  circle  the  spirit  moved  another  to  take  his  place. 


40  LIFE  Of  SITTING  BULL. 

The  queer  resemblances  between  the  Indians  and 
those  Hebrew  bands  of  whose  history  the  Old  Tes 
tament  is  a  record  have  often  been  pointed  out,  but 
the  writer  has  never  seen  attention  called  to  the 
similiarity  of  certain  of  the  Hebrew  incidents  to  the 
common  practices  of  Indian  medicine  men.  In  their 

HEBREWS  LIKE  INDIANS. 

early  history  the  Hebrew  leaders  were  continually 
holding  converse  with  the  Almighty.  They  went 
apart  from  their  followers,  up  in  mountains  or  in 
secret  places  and  talked  with  Jehovah.  That  is  pre 
cisely  what  the  medicine  men  do  to-day,  or  pretend 
to  do.  Every  man  who  knows  the  Indians  knows 
that  during  all  this  Messiah  craze  the  medicine  men 
of  the  various  tribes  have  with  great  formality  pre 
pared  to  talk  with  Gitchie-Manitou  or  whatever  they 
happen  to  call  the  Good  Spirit.  In  some  tribes  they 
have  built  little  wickiups  of  saplings  and  leaves  and 
have  gone  into  them  and  held  conversations  that 
were  audible,  though  not  intelligible,  to  the  red  men 
listening  outside.  The  savages  have  heard  the  medi 
cine  man's  voice  and  then  have  heard  the  voice  of 
some  other  person  replying  to  him  in  a  jargon  they 
could  not  unravel.  In  other  tribes  the  medicine  men 
have  merely  reported  having  held  such  conversa 
tions  precisely  as  the  Israelitish  leaders  did.  It  is 

CONVERSE  WITH  JEHOVAH. 

not  for  us  to  say  that  the  grounds  for  such  reports 
of  the  words  of  the  Almighty  were  as  slight  in  one 
case  as  the  other,  but  it  is  true  that  the  Indians  have 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  47 

believed  that  their  priests  have  really  believed  such 
conversations  took  place. 

Those  that  have  followed  Sitting  Bull's  history 
know  that  his  tribe  has  long  been  divided  as  to  his 
power.  One  contingent  has  held  that  his  "  medi 
cine  "  is  no  good,  by  which  they  mean  that  if  he  ever 
had  genuine  power  to  converse  with  spirits  that 
power  has  left  him.  This  often  happens.  Medicine 
men  have  their  day  and  their  decline,  and  he  is  a 
very  sagacious  Indian  who  can  keep  up  faith  in  his 
ministrations  for  many  years  at  a  time  or  until  he  dies- 

IN  TERROR  OF  HIM. 

The  following  authentic  story  illustrates  how  much 
Sitting  Bull  was  feared  in«his  tribe.  In  January, 
1876,  when  Major  Alderson  was  Indian  agent  at 
Fort  Peck,  he  received  from  the  government  a  letter 
which  he  was  ordered  to  convey  to  Sitting  Bull, 
commanding  that  worthy  to  come  into  the  reserva 
tion  or  consider  himself  an  outlaw.  Alderson  was 
in  a  quandary.  His  instructions  were  clear  and  per 
emptory.  He  sent  for  Sitting  Bull,  but  Sitting  Bull 
was  just  then  too  busy  to  visit  Fort  Peck;  so  the 
letter  had,  if  possible,  to  be  sent  to  him.  A  gentle 
man  of  unquestioned  bravery,  who  could  speak  the 
Indian  language  fluently,  was  sent  for  and  offered 
$500.  and  an  escort  if  he  would  take  the  letter  to 
the  Indian  camp.  After  consideration,  however, 
the  offer  was  declined.  "For,"  said  he,  "if  I  could 
see  Sitting  Bull  myself,  I  believe  my  life  would  be 
safe,  but  he  would  cut  my  ears  off,  sure."  Final'" 


48  LIF&  OF  SITTING  BULL 

a  party  of  Indians  were  dispatche_d  with  the  missive 
after  it  had  been  very  carefully  explained  and  inter 
preted.  After  an  absence  of  five  days  they  returned 
and  confessed  that  their  hearts  "  were  not  big 
enough  "  to  carry  such  a  message  to  Sitting  Bull. 
Consequently  the  benevolent  intentions  of  the  gov 
ernment  were  never  conveyed  to  the  contumacious 
chief. 

And  yet  he  was  often  magnanimous,  from  an 
Indian's  point  of  view.  For  example,  it  is  told  that 
in  1873  he  was  coming  with  a  small  band  to  Fort 
Peck,  and  he  found  a  short  distance  from  the  fort, 

SAVED   THEIR  LIVES. 

three  white  men  lying*  asleep  under  a  tree.  His 
followers  wanted  to  kill  and  scalp  them  on  the  spot, 
and  secure  their  arms  and  horses.  This  the  chief 
would  not  allow,  and  stood  over  them  till  all  his 
band  had  passed.  Next  day  in  the  fort,  Sitting  Bull 
walked  up  to  the  leader,  Mr.  Campbell,  and  shook 
hands.  Campbell  said  he -did  not  know  him.  "I  am 
Sitting  Bull,"  was  the  reply,  "  and  I  gave  you  your 
life  yesterday."  "  How  was  that?  "  said  Campbell. 
The  chief  proceeded  to  explain  in  a  manner  that 
satisfied  Campbell  that  what  he  said  was  true,  and, 
in  gratitude,  offered  rewards,  but  Sitting  Bull  de 
clined  all  such  proffers,  and  after  another  hand 
shaking,  strode  away. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  SAVAGE  IN  SOCIETY. 

His  VISIT  TO  A  CAMP  AT  FARGO— ASHAMED  OF  His  PRIMITIVE  GARB— 
His  FIRST  SUIT  OF  WHITE  MAN'S  CLOTHES — A  DISCOMFITED  YOUNG 
CLERGYMAN — THE  INDIAN  AT  DINNER — His  FIRST  LOOK  IN  A  MIR 
ROR — AUTOGRAPH  SELLING. 

Away  back  in  the  '70*3,  what  is  now  the  city  of 
Fargo,  North  Dakota,  was  a  mere  camp  of  civil  en 
gineers.  Among  its  occupants  was  one  w^o  had 
his  wife  and  daughter  with  him.  Arid  that  wife  has 
related  in  the  Denver  Republican  some  interesting" 
reminiscences  of  frontier  life  at  that  time,  and  es 
pecially  of  Sitting  Bull's  visit  to  their  camp.  "  Our 
camp,"  she  says,  "had  many  visitors  that  year.  It 
chanced  that  two  well-known  French  gentlemen, 
heavy  bondholders  in  the  Northern  Pacific,  were 
making  the  tour  to  judge  of  the  wisdom  of  their  in 
vestments.  Two  or  three  New  York  stockholders 
were  spending  a  few  days  in  camp,  also,  and  a 
couple  of  St.  Paul  wholesale  merchants,  on  the  look 
out  for  possible  contracts  for  supplies. 

"I  heard  an  unusual  commotion  outside  the  tent 
before  rising  in  the  morning,  and,  peeping  out,  saw 
a  party  of  eight  or  ten  Indians,  full-  blooded  Sioux, 

4P 


50  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

from  the  Missouri  Valley,  on  their  way  to  pay  a  visit 
to  the  * 'Great  Father*  in  Washington.  Among 
them  was  the  wily,  keen-witted,  merciless  savage 
who  afterward  became  so  famous — Sitting  Bull. 
They  had  left  their  native  haunts  clad  only  in  their 
native  garb,  but  at  Bismarck  two  or  three  of  them 
had  succeeded  the  evening  before  they  left  in  in 
ducting  themselves  into  some  of  the  cast-off  clothes 

GORGEOUS  APPAREL. 

of  Fort  Lincoln  soldiers.  Over  these  they  had 
thrown  their  own  blankets,  so  Sitting  Bull  had  not 
discovered  the  change  until  the  next  morning. 
While  openly  scoffing  at  such  degeneracy,  the  in 
terpreter  accompanying  them  told  us  the  chief  was 
secretly  chagrined  at  not  having  procured  such 
gorgeous  raiment  for  himself,  and  upon  his  arrival 
at  Fargo  he  declined  to  be  presented  to  the  poten 
tates  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  until  properly 
attired. 

"  As  he  was  resolute  in  his  desire  to  have  white 
man's  clothes,  a  contribution  was  levied  on  different 
members  of  the  encampment,  the  result  of  which, 
although  satisfactory  to  him,  struck  the  rest  of  us 
as  inexpressibly  ludicrous.  The  only  pair  of  trous 
ers  whose  waist-band  was  suited  to  his  girth  be 
longed  to  a  very  short  man,  and  gave  to  their  pres 
ent  wearer  that  laughable  appearance  inseparable 

A  QUEER  OUTFIT. 

from  abbreviated  nether  garments.  As  no  ordinary 
masculine  sock  was  long  enough  to  fill  the  gap  be- 


AND    7 HE  INDIAN  WAR.  51 

tween  shoes  and  trousers,  Aunt  Venny,  the  huge 
old  negro  cook,  was  called  to  the  rescue,  and  a  pair 
of  snow  white  stockings  were  given  to  him.  There 
was,  of  course,  some  difficulty  in  giving  these  the 
smooth,  un  wrinkled  appearance  desirable,  but  the 
ebony  aunty  (whom  I  have  always  suspected  of  pre 
siding  over  that  extraordinary  toilet)  got  round  the 
difficulty  by  fastening  hose  and  trousers  together 
with  those  useful  little  articles  known  as  safety  pins. 
"  One  of  our  brawny  teamsters  contributed  a 
shirt.  Flannel  shirts  were  in  general  wear  among 
our  engineers,  and  a  white  one  (commonly  known 
as  a  boiled  shirt)  was  an  almost  unknown  luxury. 
However,  one  of  the  men  resurrected  one  long 
buried  in  a  hidden  trunk,  and,  to  Sitting  Bull's  great 
satisfaction,  he  was  instructed  as  to  the  approved 
manner  of  entrance  and  exit.  A  waistcoat  was  not 
to  be  found,  and  it  seemed  for  a  time  that  civiliza 
tion,  as  represented  by  a  coat,  was  for  him  still  in 
the  dim  future.  But  here  again  his  good  genius  in 
the  shape  of  the  fat  old  negress  intervened.  A 
coat  having  been  found  whose  only  objection  was 
its  extreme  narrowness  across  the  back,  this  ingeni 
ous  woman  energetically  ripped  the  centre  seam 

A  LUCKY  EXPEDIENT. 

and  inserted  a  broad  stripe  of  vivid  red,  cut  from  a 
heavy  blanket.  A  stove-pipe  hat  polished  to  the  last 
degree  was  found,  and  thus  equipped  the  famous  chief 
tain  made  his  debut  before  the  presiding  officials  of 
the  encampment. 


52  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

"  The  wives  of  several  of  the  officers  had  been  at 
various  times  resident  in  the  camp,  but  just  then  I 
chanced  to  be  left  alone  with  my  little  girl  to  repre 
sent  our  sex.  I  had  been  warned  of  the  impending 
call,  but  had  been  told  nothing  of  the  change  of 
raiment,  and  when  this  astounding  toilet  appeared 
before  me,  the  keeping  of  the  muscles  of  my  face 
under  control,  and  maintaining  a  gravity  befitting 
the  occasion  was  the  great  triumph  of  my  life.  My 
little  daughter  was  not  so  fortunate,  and  at  once 
gave  utterance  to  an  uproarious  burst  of  mirth,  caus 
ing  her  father  to  instantly  seize  and  bear  her  igno- 
miniously  from  the  tent. 

SITTING  BULL'S  LANGUAGE. 

"Sitting  Bull's  language  was  a  compound  of  pure 
Sioux,  mongrel  English,  bespattered  here  and  there 
with  a  word  or  two  of  French;  picked  up  in  his  in 
tercourse  with  post  traders.  As  these  traders  gen 
erally  use  language  adapted  to  the  strength  of  their 
emotions  when  their  stores  are  pillaged  by  the  half- 
breeds,  the  ejaculations  picked  up  and  embalmed 
by  Sitting  Bull  were  occasionally  startling  to  ladies. 
But  women  on  the  frontier  learn  to  exhibit  great 
fortitude  in  matters  of  this  sort.  So  I  proudly  felt 
that  I  was  acquitting  myself  very  creditably  during 
the  interview,  and  as  I  had  been  instructed  to  invite 
the  chieftain  to  dine  with  us  in  due  form  and  state,  I 
did  so.  He  evidently  viewed  the  idea  of  sitting 
down  to  a  meal  at  the  same  time  with  a  woman  with 


AND   THE   INDIAN  WAR.  53 

HIS  IDEA  OF  WOMEN. 

much  disfavor.  His  creed  taught  him  that  I  should 
stand  meekly  behind  his  chair,  bringing  to  him  his 
nectar  and  ambrosia  as  represented  by  bean  soup 
and  venison,  myself  thankfully  swallowing  at  inter 
vals  such  morsels  as  he  might  see  fit  to  toss  me. 

u  Among  our  guests  that  day  was  a  young  Eastern 
clergyman,  making  his  first  trip  over  the  prairies. 
He  was  a  very  zealous  youth,  strongly  imbued  with 
the  missionary  spirit,  albeit  sadly  lacking  in  expe 
rience.  I  soon  saw  he  looked  upon  the  meeting 
with  these  Indians  as  a  special  providence,  and 
burned  with  a  desire  to  turn  it  to  account  in  their 
behalf  spiritually.  Still  no  opportunity  seemed  to 
offer,  and  we  took  our  places  at  the  table.  Now, 
clergymen  were  rare  visitors  in  those  regions  at  that 
date,  and  we  had  become  lamentably  thoughtless  as 
regarded  many  of  the  religious  observances  of  civ- 

A  SERIOUS  DILEMMA. 

ilization.  No  sooner  had  we  seated  ourselves  than 
the  dreadful  consciousness  came  over  me  that  my 
husband  was  entirely  oblivious  of  the  fact  that  when 
a  minister  of  the  gospel  was  present  grace  was  a 
customary  preliminary  to  a  meal.  He  prepared  to 
carve  the  substantial  roast  of  venison,  and  there 
was  no  lull  in  the  conversation  of  the  gentlemen. 
In  vain  I  fixed  my  gaze  upon  his  face  and  strove  to 
send  him  a  mental  telegram.  In  desperation  I 
thrust  my  foot  across,  seeking  his  beneath  the  table, 
4 


54  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

hoping  in  this  way  to  give  him  an  intimation  of  what 
should  be  done.  But,  alas !  when  I  did  succeed  in 
touching  him,  he,  with  that  depraved  obtuseness 
seen  only  in  man,  looked  up  with  a  cheerful  *  pardon 
me/  as  though  he  had  trespassed  beyond  his  bound 
aries  beneath  the  table. 

"  The  poor  young  clergyman  had  given  one  or 
two  loud  'ahems'  in  vain,  and  now  in  despair  rose 
from  his  seat,  and,  with  arms  extended  over  the 

SAYING  GRACE. 

table,  loudly  invoked  a  blessing  upon  our  feast. 
Despairing  of  any  other  chance,  I  suppose,  he  dex 
terously  interwove  a  petition  for  the  conversion  of 
the  grim  old  savage  before  him,  making  in  all  a 
rather  lengthy  preamble.  Sitting  Bull's  eyes  had 
been  fixed  eagerly  on  the  venison,  wandering  only 
to  the  motions  of  the  carving  knife  in  the  hands  of 
my  husband,  who,  finding  his  hospitable  efforts  sud 
denly  suspended  by  the  unexpected  prayer,  sat  with 
the  carving  implements  in  his  hands,  gazing  help 
lessly  at  me  with  an  air  of  mild  reproach  as  if  to 
say,  'Why  didn't  you  warn  me?' 

"  The  old  warrior  evidently  regarded  this  devout 
exercise  as  some  sort  of  incantation  by  a  medicine 
man  of  the  pale-faces,  designed  to  affect  food,  for  as 

SUSPICIOUS  OF  EVIL. 

our  minister,  in  his  eagerness  to  offer  a  suitable  pe-  \ 
tition,    wildly   waved    his    hands    over    the   various 
dishes,  Sitting  Bull  glanced  suspiciously  from  one 


AT  HIS  INCANTATIONS. 


AND    THE   INDTAN   WAR.  57 

article  of  food  to  another,  then  to  the  faces  of  the 
white  men,  and  finally  sank  sullenly  back  in  the  un 
accustomed  chair. 

"When  at  length  his  plate  was  filled  and  sent 
round  to  him,  he  glowered  over  it,  muttered  and 
grunted,  but  made  no  attempt  to  eat.  In  distress  I 
beckoned  to  the  half-breed,  who  served  as  inter 
preter,  and  who  hung  about  the  tent  awaiting  his 
turn  to  eat.  After  a  series  of  grunts  exchanged 
with  the  savage,  the  half-breed  informed  us  :  '  Great 
chief  say  white  medicine  man  put  bad  spirit  in  meat 
and  potatoes.  If  chief  eat,  maybe  he  be  weak  and 
never  travel  to  see  the  Great  Father.' 

"A  long  explanation  ensued,  and  at  last  our  grim 
guest  fell  upon  his  long-delayed  dinner  with  fierce 
appetite.  I  regret  to  say,  however,  that  in  the  train 
ing  of  his  childhood  table  manners  must  have  been 
sadly  neglected.  The  only  possible  use  he  could 
see  for  a  fork  was  to  reach  forth  with  his.  grimy 
hands  and  spear  various  articles  of  food  which  ap 
peared  to  him  desirable. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  meal  the  persevering  little 
minister  was  on  the  watch  for  his  opportunity, -and, 
as  we  were  now  better  prepared,  a  decent  silence 
ensued,  and  we  bowed  our  heads  with  due  rever 
ence  for  the  return  of  thanks.  The  poor  man 
opened  his  mouth  and  had  uttered  but  a  wora  or 

SITTING  BULL  OBJECTS. 

two  of  adjuration  when  Sitting  Bull  arose  and  with 
one  stride  reached  him,  placed  his  hand  over  the 


58  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

parson's  mouth,  and  with  an  emphatic,  *  No.  no ; 
once  enough ;  no  more  call  down  the  Great  Spirit 
to  crush  the  chief/  he  marched  out. 

"  For  the  remainder  of  the  day  he  strutted  about 
the  camp  with  the  most  absolute  self-satisfaction,  his 
confidence  and  pleasure  in  the  loveliness  of  his  new 
attire  being  unbounded.  Furthermore,  upon  stroll 
ing  into  my  tent  and  peering  about  at  the  various 
unknown  articles,  he  espied  a  small  hand-mirror. 
Now,  Sitting  Bull,  equipped  as  he  was  that  day, 
squatted  on  the  floor  surveying  himself  in  the  little 
mirror,  is  about  as  different  an  object  from  the  Sit 
ting  Bull  of  the  Record  of  the  War  Department  as 
it  is  possible  to  conceive,  but  the  one  is  as  much  of 
a  reality  as  the  other. 

"  Nothing  could  induce  him  to  return  the  glass. 
He  deposited  it  somewhere  beneath  his  vestments 
and  went  out,  but  justice  compels  me  to  state  that 

A  FEATHER  FOR  A  MIRROR. 

he  returned  to  the  tent  with  the  tall  war  plume  worn 
when  arrayed  for  battle,  and,  plucking  one  heavy 
quill  from  it,  bestowed  it  as  a  great  treasure  upon 
my  little  girl.  It  was  white,  apparently  from  the 
wing  of  some  huge  white  bird,  but  its  tip  was  stained 
with  crimson,  and  he  haughtily  explained  it  was  the 
blood  of  '  Wah-ton-set,  chief  of  the  Arickarees/ 

"  I  saw  him  at  Bismarck  long  after  this  episode, 
the  centre  of  a  group  of  Eastern  curiosity  hunters, 
where  he  was  driving  a  thriving  business  disposing 
of  his  autographs  at  twenty-five  cents  apiece.  Re- 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  59 

gard  for  my  sex  should,  I  suppose,  induce  me  to  re 
frain  from  recording  the  fact,  but  it  is  true  that  I  saw 
a  New  York  belle  in  the  crowd  around  him,  who, 
not  content  with  the  autograph,  aspired  to  bear  away 
some  more  novel  memento,  and  mincing  up  to  him 
whispered  something  in  his  ear.  The  old  chief 
grinned  and  shook  his  head,  then  something  heavy 
passed  from  her  hand  to  his,  and  with  another  grin 
to  the  crowd  the  grimy,  dirty,  smoke-scented  old 
heathen  bent  his  head  down  and  kissed  her." 

Such,  then,  was  the  formidable  personage  around 
whom  the  disaffected  Sioux  rallied,  in  hope  of  win 
ning  by  force  redress  for  their  many  grievances. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   FOE   OF  THE   WHITE   MAN. 

FORT  BUFORD'S  GHASTLY  TRAGEDY— AN  ACCOMPLISHED  CATTLE  THIEF 
— CONTEMPT  FOR  PALE  FACES— OPPOSING  INVASION  OF  His  TERRI 
TORY—THE  FORT  ELLIS  EPISODE— A  PEN-AND-INK  SKETCH  OF  THE 
SAVAGE  CHIEF. 

Sitting  Bull  first  became  widely  known  to  the 
white  people  of  America  in  1866.  In  that  year  he 
led  a  terrible  raid  against  the  settlers  and  military 
post  at  Fort  Buford.  His  path  was  marked  with 
blood  and  made  memorable  by  ruthless  savagery. 
As  the  marauders  approached  the  fort,  the  com 
mandant  of  the  post  shot  and  killed  his  own  wife, 
at  her  earnest  request,  to  save  her  from  the  more 
cruel  fate  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Sioux. 
After  that  awful  introduction  to  public  notice,  the 
chief  kept  himself  conspicuous  by  his  daring,  his 
cunning,  and  his  implacable  hostility  to  the  whites. 
He  seldom  went  further  than  to  steal  horses  and 
cattle,  but  in  that  he  was  very  successful,  and  no 
man  was  ever  more  agile  in  eluding  pursuit. 

His  influence  throughout  the  whole  tribe  was  bad, 
and  he  was  gathering  about  him  constantly  in 
creasing  numbers  of  young  men,  whose  morals  were 
60 


AND    THE   INDIAN  WAR.  6 1 

corrupted  and  who  were  "spoiling  for  a  fight.'*  His 
attitude  toward  white  men  was  impudent  and  de 
fiant;  even  toward  the  military  authorities.  To 
emphasize  his  contempt  for  the  "  pale-faces,"  he 
would  never  speak  a  word  of  English,  or  admit  for 
a  moment  that  he  understood  it.  He  even  objected 
to  having  it  spoken  in  his  presence.  General  Mor 
row  was  in  command  of  Fort  Buford  in  1869,  and 
when  numerous  depredations  were  committed  and 
stock  stolen,  Sitting  Bull  was  accused  because  of 
his  general  character,  although  he  was  then  a  chief. 
He  denied  the  charge  with  great  vigor,  and  not  long 
afterward  one  of  his  men  was  killed.  He  charged 

DEMANDING  SATISFACTION. 

that  the  killing  was  unprovoked  and  had  been  done 
by  a  soldier.  He  made  a  demand  for  some  sort  of 
a  settlement,  and  displayed  such  powers  of  argu 
ment  that  General  Morrow  piled  up  blankets  on 
the  dead  Indian  until  ^he  chief  declared  himself 
satisfied. 

His  success  in  obtaining  such  a  concession  drew 

c> 

around  him  some  of  the  bolder  members  of  the  tribe, 
who  had  before  held  aloof,  although  they  did  not 
dare  to  dispute  his  authority.  From  that  day  for 
ward  Sitting  Bull  became  a  great  chief  among  his 
people.  It  was  conjectured  by  some  of  the  white 
scouts  at  the  time  that  the  wily  young  buck  had 
been  playing  a  part,  and  that  his  laziness  was  only 
assumed.  At  all  events,  the  chief  began  at  once  to 


62  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

display  a  deliberative  turn  of  mind  altogether  at 
variance  with  his  previous  character.  In  a  very  few 

RECOGNIZED  LEADER. 

months  his  perspicacious  view  of  events  became  so 
well  known  that  he  had  every  buck  in  the  tribe  un 
der  his  thumb,  and  those  who  had  been  bold  enough 
to  consider  themselves  possible  rivals  were  heard 
of  no  more.  He  was  of  more  than  an  ordinarily 
restless  nature,  even  from  an  Indian  standpoint,  and 
as  soon  as  he  felt  that  his  power  was  absolute  he 
gave  orders  to  strike  camp  and  go  to  the  Yellow 
stone  River.  There  the  tepees  were  put  up,  the 
stock  tethered,  and  orders  issued  that  no  white  man 

SITTING  BULL'S  CLAIM. 

should  be  permitted  to  enter  the  camp.  Sitting  Bull 
set  up  a  claim  to  all  the  land  for  forty  rods  on  both 
sides  of  the  Yellowstone  and  all  its  tributaries. 

Notwithstanding  this  embargo,  several  white  men 
did  get  into  the  camp  and  get  out  again  with  whole 
skins  and  proper  quota  of  scalps.  The  big  chief 
was  crafty  enough  to  impress  upon  these  men  the 

ADMIRATION  FOR  THE  CHIEF. 

strength  of  his  mental  make-up.  He  gave  them 
exhibitions  of  his  judicial  wisdom  in  determining 
disputes,  of  the  fairness  of  his  decisions,  of  the  re 
gard  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  people,  of  his  skill 
as  a  hunter  and  a  rider.  When  these  men  returned 
to  civilization  their  praise  for  Sitting  Bull  was  ex- 


AND    THE  JNDIAN  WAR.  63 

travagant.  One  of  them  went  back  and  spent  sev 
eral  days  more  in  the  Indian  camp,  and  when  the 
butchery  of  Custer  and  his  command  took  place 
some  years  later  wrote  an  extensive  and  impas 
sioned  defense  of  Sitting  Bull's  work  on  that  bloody 
field.  Another  white  man  who  formed  an  intense 
admiration  for  the  chief  was  John  Nelson,  a  scout, 
who  afterward  became  connected  with  Buffalo  Bill's 
Wild  West  show  as  an  interpreter. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1875  a  party  of  fifty  white 
men  from  Montana  invaded  Sitting  Bull's  territory 
and  built  a  fort.  The  chief  ordered  them  to  leave, 
and  some  accounts  are  to  the  effect  that  he  enforced 
the  demand  by  killing  one  of  the  party.  The  his 
torians  favorable  to  the  Indian  side,  however,  assert 
that  an  Indian  was  killed  first,  and  that  two  white 
men  were  killed  in  retaliation.  It  is  certain,  how 
ever,  that  there  were  two  deaths  in  the  fort  from 

BESIEGING  THE  PALE-FACES. 

bullets  fired  by  the  Indians.  Sitting  Bull  imme* 
diately  put  the  fort  under  fire,  and  there  were  des 
ultory  attacks  daily,  lasting  through  the  months  of 
December  and  January.  Six  white  men  were  killed 
and  eight  wounded.  Five  hundred  warriors  sur 
rounded  the  fort,  and  their  persistent  patience  soon 
convinced  the  besieged  that  the  intention  was  to 
starve  them  to  death.  Two  of  the  imprisoned  men 
volunteered  to  attempt  to  reach  the  nearest  point 
where  help  could  be  obtained.  They  got  out  safely 


64  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

at  midnight,  and  after  great  hardship  and  Sx/fering 
reached  Fort  Ellis  in  the  latter  part  of  February, 
after  having  traveled  afoot  for  seventeen  days,  half 
starved  and  badly  frozen.  Four  companies  of 
United  States  cavalry,  three  companies  of  Montana 
militia,  and  about  seventy-five  friendly  Indians  were 
put  under  marching  orders  at  once.  The  chief 
heard  of  their  coming  through  his  outposts,  and  sent 
word  that  he  was  glad  that  the  white  men  were  to 
be  taken  away.  Knowing  he  could  not  hope  to 
compete  with  the  reinforcement,  he  withdrew  his 
force  to  a  safe  distance  and  was  not  attacked.  The 
wretched  survivors  were  rescued,  and  after  the 
evacuation  Sitting  Bull  fired  the  fort,  and  had  the 
bodies  of  the  six  dead  men  dug  from  their  shallow 
graves  and  scalped. 

HIS  INVETERATE  HATRED. 

This  hatred  for  the  whites  distinguished  Sitting 
Bull  above  all  other  Sioux.  When  he  was  engaged 
in  hostilities  he  was  as  ferocious  and  bloodthirsty  as 
a  beast  of  prey,  and  his  atrocities,  or  those  directed 
by  him,  have  earned  him  death  a  thousand  times. 
In  peace  he  was  a  smooth  liar,  and,  professing  the 
utmost  friendship,  never  failed  to  be  insolent  and 
insulting  when  the  opportunity  offered.  His  per 
sonal  appearance  is  described  by  John  Finerty,  who 
paid  the  chief  a  visit  at  his  camp  on  Mushroom 
Creek,  Woody  Mountains,  Northwest  Territory. 
The  noted  chief  had  taken  a  trip  into  the  British 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  65 

possessions  to  remain  until  he  could  arrange  for 
amnesty  for  his  connection  with  the  uprising  of 
which  the  Little  Big  Horn  or  Custer  massacre  was 

A  VIVID  PICTURE. 

one  of  the  sanguinary  incidents.  Mr.  Finerty  thus 
paints  the  picture: 

"  Soon  afterward  an  Indian  mounted  on  a  cream- 
colored  pony  and  holding  in  his  hand  an  eagle's 
wing  which  did  duty  as  a  fan,  spurred  in  back  of 
the  chiefs,  and  stared  stolidly  for  a  minute  or  two  at 
me.  His  hair,  parted  in  the  ordinary  Sioux  fashion, 
was  without  a  plume.  His  broad  face  with  a  promi 
nent  hooked  nose  and  wide  jaws  was  destitute  of 
paint.  His  fierr ,  half-bloodshot  eyes  gleamed 
from  under  bro^o  which  displayed  large  perceptive 
organs,  and  as  he  sat  there  on  his  horse  regarding 
me  with  a  look  which  seemed  blended  of  curiosity 
and  insolence,  I  did  not  need  to  be  told  that  he 
was  Sitting  Bull.  .  .  .  After  a  little  the  noted  sav 
age  dismounted  and  led  his  horse  partly  into  the 
shade.  I  noticed  that  he  was  an  inch  or  two  over 
the  medium  height,  broadly  built,  rather  bow-legged, 
and  limped  slightly,  as  though  from  an  old  wound. 
He  sat  upon  the  ground,  and  was  soon  engirdled 
by  a  crowd  of  young  warriors  with  whom  he  was 
an  especial  favorite  as  representing  the  unquencha 
ble  hostility  of  the  aboriginal  savage  to  the  hated 
pale-faces/' 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  LITTLE  BIG  HORN. 

SITTING  BULL  AT  THE  HEIGHT  OF  His  POWER — THE  RUSH  FOR  THE  BLACK 
HILLS — INEFFECTUAL  NEGOTIATIONS — SITTING  BULL'S  DEFIANT  ANS 
WER  TO  A  SUMMONS — PREPARATIONS  FOR  A  GREAT  STRUGGLE — How 
THE  THREE  DIVISIONS  OF  THE  ARMY  MARCHED  INTO  THE  INDIANS' 
COUNTRY. 

Sitting  Bull  reached  the  zenith  of  his  fame  and 
power  in  the  Sioux  war  of  1876.  That  conflict  be 
gan  more  like  a  civil  war  than  any  other  of  our  In 
fightings.  There  were  diplomatic  hagglings,  breaches 
of  faith  on  both  sides,  deliberate  preparations  for  a 
long  campaign,  an  finally  an  ultimatum.  The  in 
spiring  cause  of  the  trouble  was  the  discovery  of 
gold  and  silver  in  the  Black  Hills.  This  was  then 
an  almost  unknown  region,  girt  by  the  famous  Bad 
Lands.  Even  the  Indians  went  there  seldom,  re- 

CUSTER  EXPEDITION. 

garding  it  as  a  "  medicine  country,"  or  haunted 
region.  But  when  it  became  known  that  precious 
metals  were  to  be  found  there,  pressure  was  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  Government,  and  an  expedition 
was  sent.  Ostensibly  it  was  a  military  reconnais- 

66 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  67 

sance.  In  reality,  it  was  a  prospecting  party.  It 
was  led  by  General  George  A.  Custer,  and  consisted 
of  more  than  1200  men,  with  sixty  Indian  guides. 
The  expedition  found  the  hills  rich  with  precious 
metals,  and  forthwith  there  was  a  great  rush  of 
miners  and  other  settlers. 

This  greatly  annoyed  the  Indians,  to  whom  all 
that  region  belonged.  Red  Cloud,  Spotted  Tail,  and 
other  chiefs  visited  Washington  to  protest  against 
the  invasion,  which  was  a  clear  violation  of  existing 
treaties.  The  Government  agreed  to  keep  the  pros 
pectors  out,  but  failed  to  do  so,  and  by  the  fall  of 
1875  there  were  a  thousand  miners  at  work  in  the 
Black  Hills.  Then  the  Indians  demanded  payment 
for  the  land  of  which  they  were  being  robbed,  and 
a  Government  Commission  visited  them  to  agree  on 
terms.  But  the  Commission  returned  with  its  work 
undone,  and  reported  that  it  would  be  impossible 
to  settle  the  matter  without  force.  The  Indians,  too, 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  they  would  have  to  fight 
for  their  rights.  Accordingly  they  began  to  desert 

FLOCKING  TO  SITTING  BULL. 

Red  Cloud  and  the  other  more  conservative  chiefs, 
and  to  flock  about  Sitting  Bull,  who  had  all  along 
been  truculent  and  had  opposed  parting  with  the 
land  at  any  price. 

For  many  years  a  number  of  hostile  Sioux  had 
been  roaming  through  the  northern  portion  of  Da 
kota  under  the  leadership  of  Sitting  Bull,  Crazy 
Horse,  and  a  few  other  chiefs.  In  1874  their  num- 


63  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

ber  was  estimated  at  7,000,  but  subsequently  about 
4,000  of  these  Indians  went  into  the  agencies  at 
Standing  Rock,  Spotted  Tail,  and  Cheyenne  River 
reducing  the  number  who  might  be  properly  called 
hostile  to  about  3,000.  The  War  Department  esti 
mated  Sitting  Bull's  band  at  about  3,500  Indians. 
The  number  of  warriors  in  these  bands  could  not 
originally  have  exceeded  between  400  and  500.  All 
attempts  to  induce  these  Indians  to  go  upon  reser 
vations  had  thus  far  failed.  In  1875,  Gen.  Crook 
visited  Washington  for  the  purpose  of  consulting 
the  Administration  in  regard  to  its  future  treatment 
of  them.  With  the  Secretary  of  War  and  Gen.  • 
Cowen,  acting  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Gen.  Crook 

PLANNING  AN   EXPEDITION. 

visited  the  President  and  proposed  that  an  expedi 
tion  be  sent  against  these  Indians  during  the  Win 
ter,  when  they  would  be  less  prepared  than  at  any 
other  time  to  resist.  His  recommendation  was  fav 
orably  considered.  A  message  was  sent  to  Sitting 
Bull  and  the  chiefs  who  were  operating  with  him, 
ordering  them  to  report  at  their  reservations  before 
the  ist  of  January,  1876,  the  alternative  being  that 
if  they  did  not  the  United  States  would  make  war 
against  them. 

The  hostile  Sioux  paid  no  attention  whatever  to 
the  orders  directing  them  to  report  at  reservations, 
and  preparations  were  made  to  send  an  expedition 
against  them.  The  first  engagement  occurred  in 
January,  1876,  but  resulted  in  no  advantage  to 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  69 

either  side.  A  vigorous  compaign  was  accordingly 
organized  in  the  Spring  of  1876,  against  the  hostile 

WAR  AGAINST  THE  SIOUX.- 

tribes  of  the  Sioux,  who  under  the  leadership  of 
Sitting  Bull  refused  to  leave  their  camps  on  the  Big 
Horn  and  Tongue  Rivers,  in  the  Valley  of  the  Yel 
lowstone,  and  enter  upon  the  reservations  which  the 
Government  had  set  apart  for  them.  The  Govern 
ment  dispatched  scouts  into  the  Big  Horn  country 
with  a  peremptory  notice  of  ejection,  and  the  threat 
that  if  they  should  not  heed  the  summons,  troops 
would  be  sent  into  the  valley  to  drive  them  out. 
Sitting  Bull  received  the  message  with  contempt, 

AN  OMINOUS   REPLY. 

saying:  "When  you  come  for  me  you  need  bring 
no  guides.  You  will  easily  find  me.  I  shall  be  right 
here.  I  shall  not  run  away."  This  answer  was  omin 
ous,  and  the  military  authorities  at  once  prepared 
for  serious  action.  All  available  troops  were  or 
dered  into  active  service.  Three  columns  under 
the  command  of  Gen.  Gibbon,  Gen.  Terry,  and 
Gen  Crook,  were  equipped  and  placed  under  march 
ing  orders.  The  objective  point  was  Sitting  Bull's 
camp,  in  the  Big  Horn  country.  The  three  columns 
were  to  meet  on  the  Powder  or  Tongue  River,  and 
combine  their  forces  in  the  heart  of  the  enemy's 
country.  Gen.  Crook  at  Fort  Reno,  was  to  strike 
north  ;  Gen.  Terry,  with  Gen.  Custer's  cavalry,  at 
Fort  Lincoln,  was  to  march  west ;  and  Gen.  Gibbon, 


70  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

at  Fort  Buford,  was  to  descend  the  Yellowstone 
Valley  and  join  Gen.  Terry. 

General  Terry's  command  followed  the  proposed 
line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  from  Fort  Lin 
coln  on  the  Missouri  River  to  the  Yellowstone,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Powder  River.  The  total  fighting 
strength  was  1,007  men,  including  the  7th  Cavalry, 
two  companies  (C  and  G)  of  the  i/th  Infantry,  Com 
pany  B  of  the  6th  Infantry,  a  battery  of  Gatling 
guns,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  W.  H.  Low,  Jr., 
and  a  detachment  of  Indian  scouts.  The  strength 
of  the  cavalry  was  28  commissioned  officers  and  747 
men;  of  the  infantry,  8  officers  and  135  men,  and 
of  the  battery,  2  officers  and  32  men.  The  train 
was  a  large  and  expensive  one,  giving  employment 
to  179  men  in  various  capacities,  and  including  114 
six-team  mules,  35  pack  mules,  and  37  two-horse 

STARTING  OUT. 

teams.  The  expedition  set  out  on  May  I7th,  Gen 
eral  Custer  commanding  the  cavalry  and  General 
Terry  being  in  advance  with  the  infantry  and  train. 
The  line  of  march  from  Fort  Lincoln  led  almost  di 
rectly  west  to  the  Little  Missouri.  The  Mauvaises 
Terres  were  reached  in  ten  days,  and  twelve  bridges 
were  built  over  Davis  Creek,  which  the  column  was 
compelled  to  cross  fourteen  times.  On  May  29th, 
camp  was  pitched  on  the  Little  Missouri,  and  Gen 
eral  Custer  after  an  extended  reconnaissance  report 
ed  that  there  were  no  signs  of  Indians,  and  that  it 
would  be  safe  to  resume  the  march  on  the  morrow. 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  71 

On  June  ist,  there  was  a  hard  snow  storm  and  the 
expedition  halted.  Two  days  afterward  three  scouts 
entered  the  camp  on  Big  Beaver  Creek  and  brought 
word  that  General  Gibbon's  column  was  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Yellowstone,  opposite  Rosebud 
River;  and  that  steamers  loaded  with  supplies  had 
arrived  at  the  stockade  below  Powder  River.  The 
original  plan  had  been  to  march  directly  to  the 

CHANGE  OF  PLAN. 

stockade,  but  inasmuch  as  this  would  involve  a  cir 
cuitous  route,  and  as  there  was  high  water  in  the 
Yellowstone,  General  Terry  ordered  Colonel  Moore 
to  send  the  supplies  to  Powder  River,  and  then  led  his 
own  column  to  the  valley  of  that  stream  by  a  shorter 
detour.  Scouts  were  also  sent  to  General  Gibbon 
with  instructions  for  him  to  remain  where  he  was 
until  General  Terry's  command  should  join  him. 
General  Custer,  after  a  ride  of  fifty  miles,  marked 
out  a  road  for  the  wagons,  and  conducted  the  col 
umn  to  the  banks  of  Powder  River,  about  25  miles 
from  its  mouth.  General  Terry  with  a  cavalry  es 
cort  pushed  down  stream  and  found  the  steamers 
with  the  supplies  moored  to  the  bank.  Learning 
that  General  Gibbon's  force  was  encamped  35  miles 
up  the  river,  and  that  the  country  was  swarming 
with  Indians,  General  Terry  embarked  on  one 
of  the  steamboats  and  steamed  up  the  river  to 
hold  a  conference  with  him.  General  Gibbon's 

INDIAN   CAMP  DISCOVERED. 

scouts   reported  that    there   was    a     large   Indian 
5 


72  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

camp  strongly  posted  in  the  valley  of  Rosebud 
River.  After  a  brief  conference  the  two  command 
ers  agreed  upon  a  plan  of  operations,  and  General 
Terry  returned  to  the  Powder  River. 

The  main  column  reached  the  Yellowstone  on 
June  nth,  and  went  into  camp.  General  Terry 
sent  Colonel  Reno  with  six  companies  of  cavalry 
and  a  Gatling  gun  to  ascend  Powder  River  Valley, 
and  striking  across  to  Tongue  River,  descend  to  the 
Yellowstone,  where,  according  to  the  plan,  the  rest 
of  the  command  would  be  encamped.  The  scout 
ing  party  was  detained  by  rain  until  June  loth,  when 
it  started  in  a  north-westerly  direction  along  the 
north  bank  of  the  Powder  River.  '  At  that  time  no 
tidings  had  been  received  from  General  Crook's 
force,  but  the  columns  of  General  Terry  and  Gen 
eral  Gibbon  were  within  35  miles  of  each  other  on 
opposite  sides  of  the  Yellowstone.  The  Generals 

PLAN   OF   CAPTURE. 

had  arranged  that  the  northern  column  should  re 
turn  to  its  former  camp  opposite  the  mouth  of  the 
Rosebud  River  and  prevent  the  escape  of  Sitting 
Bull's  Indians  across  the  river  if  they  should  be 
routed  or  hard  pressed  by  the  cavalry.  General 
Terry's  force  was  to  ascend  the  Yellowstone  as  far 
as  the  Tongue  River,  and  there  await  the  return  of 
Colonel  Reno's  scouting  party.  General  Custer  was 
then  to  take  nine  companies  of  cavalry  and  a  de 
tachment  of  Indian  scouts,  and  with  a  large  train  of 
pack  mules,  loaded  with  supplies  for  fifteen  days, 


I 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  75 

was  to  pass  up  the  valley  of  the  Tongue  River, 
make  a  forced  march  across  the  country  to  Rosebud 
River,  where  the  Indians  were  reported  to  be  in 
strong  force,  and  to  rejoin  the  main  column  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river.  Meanwhile,  four  companies  of 
General  Gibbon's  cavalry  were  to  be  ferried  across 
the  Yellowstone,  and  with  the  three  companies  of 
the  7th,  that  were  left  with  General  Terry,  were  to 
march  up  the  river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rosebud 
River  and  up  the  valley  in  the  direction  of  General 
Ouster's  force.  This  was  the  plan  of  operations  on 
June  1 2th. 

On  July  3,   advices  were  received  at  Bismarck, 
on  the  Missouri,  from  Gen.  Terry's  command.  They 

COLONEL  RENO   CENSURED. 

were  to  the  following  effect :  "  Col.  Reno  with  his 
cavalry  command  had  returned  from  the  work  as 
signed  him,  and  was  censured  for  not  fully  obeying 
instructions.  Gen.  Custer  with  twelve  companies 
of  cavalry,  took  the  trail  of  the  1,500  Indians  where 
Col.  Reno  had  abandoned  it,  and  pushed  into  Rose 
bud  Valley,  where  the  Indians  had  been  congregated 

RUMORS   OF  BATTLE. 

for  some  time.  Rumors  prevail  that  Gen.  Custer 
had  since  had  a  battle  with  the  Indians.  Gen.  Cus 
ter,  on  the  2ist,  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rosebud 
and  a  fight  with  the  Indians  was  expected  about  the 
24th.  Gen.  Custer  carried  ten  days'  rations.  Gen. 
Terry  was  to  supply  Gen.  Custer  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Big  Horn,  should  his  pursuit  of  Indians  lead 


7&  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

him  that  way.  Otherwise,  Gen.  Custer  may  go  to 
Fort  Fetterman  for  supplies.  Gen.  Terry  retains 
two  steamboats,  carrying  troops  and  supplies.  The 
Yellowstone  being  high,  boats  have  no  difficulty  in 

ROUGH  COUNTRY. 

running  to  Big  Horn.  The  country  is  so  rough  that 
even  Gatling  guns  cannot  be  easily  moved  by  land. 
Col.  Reno,  on  the  2Oth,  was  near  the  mouth  of 
Tongue  River.  Moore,  with  six  companies  of  in 
fantry,  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Powder  River,  Gen. 
Gibbon's  command  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big 
Horn.  Two  hunters  were  killed  by  the  Indians  near 
Powder  River.  No  other  casualties  had  occurred. 
The  health  of  the^command  was  good.  Gen.  Terry 
had  mounted  200  infantry  on  the  mules  of  the 
wagon  train.  He  had  not  heard  from  Gen.  Crook." 
General  Gibbon's  force  was  concentrated  at  Fort 
Buford,  at  the  junction  of  the  Yellowstone  and  the 
Missouri,  and  was  under  marching  orders  about  the 
middle  of  May.  The  line  of  March  extended  up 
the  right  or  north  bank  of  the  Yellowstone,  and  the 
force  comprised  six  companies  of  the  7th  Infantry 

INDIANS  HOVERING  AROUT. 

and  four  companies  of  cavalry.  Indians  were  fre 
quently  seen  hovering  about  the  camp,  and  three 
soldiers  who  had  strayed  from  the  main  force  were 
shot.  The  column  advanced  as  far  as  the  Rosebud 
River  and  went  into  camp.  Learning  from  scouts 
that  General  Terry's  force  was  approaching,  General 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  JJ 

Gibbon  resolved  to  descend  the  Yellowstone  in 
order  to  form  a  junction  with  the  main  command. 
After  consulting  with  General  Terry  35  miles  west 
of  Powder  River  and  receiving  supplies,  General 
Gibbon  retraced  his  steps  to  his  former  camp,  and 
subsequently  pressed  on  to  the  Big  Horn,  where  he 
was  stationed  when  the  Custer  massacre  occurred. 

Brigadier-General  Crook  had  led  soldiers  in  an  at 
tack  upon  the  hostile  Sioux  Indians  twice  during  the 
Centennial  year.  Leaving  Fort  Fetterman  in  Wyo 
ming  Territory  early  in  March,  he  succeeded,  after 
a  fortnight's  march  in  very  inclement  weather,  in 
surprising  the  village  of  Crazy  Horse  on  the  Pow- 

SCATTERING  THE  SAVAGES. 

der  River.  The  soldiers  entered  the  Indian  camp 
early  in  the  morning  of  March  1 7th,  quickly  scat 
tered  the  savages,  killed  many,  and  destroyed  a 
large  amount  of  ammunition  stored  in  the  tents. 
Owing  to  a  lack  of  sufficient  supplies  and  the  ex 
haustion  of  the  troops,  General  Crook  was  then 
compelled  to  return  to  Fort  Fetterman.  This  return 
march  the  Sioux  Nation  interpreted  as  a  retreat 
caused  by  fear,  and  many  Indians  at  the  Red  Cloud 
and  Spotted  Tail  Agencies  have  since  left  the  agen 
cies  and  joined  their  kindred  in  the  revolt. 

General  Crogk  was  occupied  during  May  in  gath 
ering  a  large  force  of  soldiers  at  Fort  Fetterman, 
and  in  organizing  a  pack  train  of  sufficient  size  to 
carry  supplies  to  feed  the  little  army  for  two  months, 
it  being  his  intention  to  make  another  and  more  de- 


yg  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

termined  attack  upon  the  Indians.  Toward  the  end 
of  May  the  preparations  for  the  expedition  were 
completed.  The  force  numbered  in  all  about  noo 
men. 

The  expedition  marched  from  Fort  Fetterman  on 
May  2 Qth.  For  a  week  the  march  was  continued  in 
a  north-westerly  direction.  The  ruins  of  two  forts, 
now  known'  as  Old  Fort  Reno  and  Old  Fort  Kear 
ney,  were  reached  and  passed,  but  no  Indians  were 
encountered.  Occasionally  columns  of  smoke  were 
seen  rising  in  the  distance,  indicating  the  presence  of 
an  Indian  camp,  but  no  enemy  was  seen.  The 
Tongue  River,  over  190  miles  from  Fort  Fetterman 
was  crossed  on  the  morning  of  June  7th,  and  a  camp 

COUNCIL  OF  WAR. 

was  established.  At  midnight  an  Indian  speaking 
the  Sioux  language  was  heard  shouting  from  the 
summit  of  a  high  bluff  near  the  camp.  Other  Indi 
ans  soon  joined  him,  and  apparently  there  was  a 
war  council.  They  warned  the  members  of  the  ex 
pedition  to  return  to  Fort  Fetterman  if  they  valued 
their  lives,  as  before  two  suns  rolled  round  the  camp 
would  be  attacked  by  a  multitude  of  the  Sioux.  A 
day  and  a  night  passed,  however,  before  the  threat 
ened  attack  was  made.  It  was  late  on  the  afternoon 
of  June  9th  when  an  infantry  picket  saw  a  band  of 
Indians  creeping  to  good  positions  behind  rocks  on 
a  bluff  near  the  camp.  The  infantry  were  immedi- 
diately  formed  into  order  of  battle,  and  the  cavalry 
men  mounted  their  horses.  The  infantry  soldiers 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  79 

fired  several  volleys  and  the  Indians  returned  the 
fire.  Four  companies  of  cavalry  then  ascending  the 
bluff,  routed  the  Indians. 

On  the  following  day,  it  being  thought  that  the 
camp  was  in  an  unsafe  position,  the  troops  marched 
sixteen  miles  to  the  junction  of  Goose  Creek  with 
the  Tongue  River,  where  a  favorable  position  was 
found.  Here,  on  June  i4th.  the  band  of  Crow  and 

RESOLVED   TO  FIGHT. 

Snake  scouts  joined  the  expedition.  General  Crook 
now  resolved  to  seek  and  attack  the  Sioux.  The 
five  companies  of  infantry  were  mounted  on  mules 
belonging  to  the  pack  train,  and  four  days'  rations 
and  one  blanket  were  -  allowed  to  every  man.  No 
means  of  transportation  were  taken  except  riding 
horses  and  mules.  The  Snakes  and  Crows,  250  in 
number,  were  provided  with  Government  arms  and 
ammunition.  The  march  was  resumed  on  the  morn 
ing  of  June  1 6th.  A  distance  of  35  miles  was  made 
and  the  force  encamped  at  the  headwaters  of  the 
Rosebud  River,  between  high  bluffs.  A  hollow 
square  was  formed  in  anticipation  of  a  night  attack, 
the  Crows  reporting  that  there  were  signs  of  the 
presence  of  the  Sioux.  The  camp  was  astir  at  fm 
o'clock  the  following  morning,  and  the  march  was 

QUIETLY  ADVANCING. 

continued  down  the  valley  of  the  Rosebud.  The 
advance  was  made  as  quietly  as  possible,  and  the 
column  was  divided  so  as  to  avoid  raising  dust,  and 


gO  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

thus  give  warning  to  the  enemy.  The  Crows 
marched  in  front  and  on  the  flanks  of  the  column  of 
soldiers,  but  they  had  forgotten  to  send  forward 
their  scouts  during  the  night  before,  and  this  omis 
sion  was  to  cost  the  army  many  lives  that  day. 

The  expedition  had  marched  ten  miles,  when  at 
7.30  A.  M.,  the  Crow  scouts  suddenly  came  running 
in  from  the  front  and  declared  that  the  Sioux  were 
about  to  make  an  attack,  A  halt  was  made  and  an 
order  was  given  to  unsaddle  the  animals,  it  being 
supposed  that  the  scouts  had  merely  seen  some  of 
the  scouts  near  their  village  on  the  hills  engaged  in 
herding  their  ponies.  Yells  were  soon  heard,  how 
ever,  beyond  a  low  hill  to  the  north,  and  a  Crow 

CROW  SIGNAL  HEARD. 

chief  soon  appeared  over  the  hill  and  gave  a  signal 
to  the  Crows  that  meant  to  them  that  the  Sioux 
were  near  at  hand.  The  Crows  instantly  dashed 
forward  and  disappeared  over  the  hill.  At  this  mo 
ment  the  two  battalions  of  the  3d  Cavalry  were 
resting  on  the  south  side  of  Rosebud  Creek,  and 
the  battalion  of  the  2d  Cavalry  on  the  north  side, 
The  cavalry  made  ready  to  mount,  scouts  came  gal 
loping  back  and  said  that  the  Sioux  were  about  to 
charge,  and  shots  began  to  be  heard.  The  valley 
in  which  the  troops  were  stationed  is  surrounded  by 
hills,  rising  ridge  above  ridge  on  every  side,  and 
these  ridges  are  frequently  cut  through  with  deep 
"avines.  If  the  expedition  had  continued  its  march 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  8l 

a  mile  further  in  the  same  track  it  would  have  en 
tered  one  of  the  deepest  of  these  ravines,  and  here 
probably  the  Sioux  had  intended  to  make  their  at- 

DANGER  SHUNNED. 

tack.  If  it  had  happened  as  they  wished,  the  troops 
would  have  had  great  difficulty  in  forming  any  line 
of  defense,  and  doubtless  hundreds  of  them  would 
have  perished.  Gen.  Crook  on  receiving  the  news 
of  the  advance  of  the  Sioux,  rode  to  a  small  hill  at 
the  front  and  saw  that  the  hostile  Indians  were  in 
deed  coming  forward  with  the  evident  intention  of 
attacking  the  troops  clustered  in  the  valley  below. 
Gen.  Crook  immediately  formed  his  plan  of  battle. 
He  ordered  Col.  Royall  on  the  left  with  the  3d  Cav 
alry  to  advance  and  occupy  the  hills  in  his  front  and 
Capt.  Mills,  with  another  portion  of  the  3d  Cavalry 
with  two  infantry  companies,  to  advance  on  the  right 

DRIVING  THE  SAVAGES. 

The  columns  drove  the  Indians  from  hill  to  hill,  but 
in  the  advance  the  left,  under  Col.  Royall  became 
separated  from  the  infantry.  The  Indians  from  the 
higher  ridges  discovered  the  unfortunate  position  of 
the  left  wing,  and  entering  the  gap  between  it  and 
the  center  attacked  the  cavalrymen  not  only  on  that 
flank,  but  also  in  the  rear.  Col.  Royall  was  com 
pelled  to  retreat,  and  in  the  endeavor  to  consolidate 
his  line  with  the  center  his  troops  were  forced  to  de 
scend  into  a  deep  ravine.  The  Indians  immediately 
took  possession  of  the  abandoned  hill,  and  poured 


62  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

a  galling  fire  into  the  ranks  of  the  soldiers  as  they 
retreated,  while  Indians  at  either  end  of  the  hollow 

HAND  TO  HAND  CONFLICT. 

boldly  attacked  the  soldiers.  A  hand  to  hand  con 
flict  followed  between  many  of  the  soldiers  and  the 
Indians.  Several  of  the  soldiers  in  the  hurried  re 
treat  down  the  hill  and  across  the  hollow  were  cut 
off  from  their  comrades,  were  surrounded  by  the 
Sioux,  and  after  a  desperate  resistance  were  killed 
and  scalped.  One  of  the  soldiers  who  surrendered 
his  musket  to  a  Sioux  Indian  was  instantly  brained 
with  the  weapon  by  the  Indian,  The  main  body  of 
Col.  Royall's  force  regained  the  main  body  of  the 
expedition,  however,  and  the  troops  were  reformed 
and  again  pushed  forward  to  the  line  of  battle.  The 
troops  now  advanced  three  miles,  clearing  the  hills 
on  either  side  of  the  Rosebud.  At  i  P.  M.,  Gen. 
Crook  decided  to  halt,  the  Crow  scouts  not  knowing 
in  which  direction  the  great  Sioux  village  could  be 
found. 

RESULTS  OF  THE  BATTLE. 

In  the  battle  10  soldiers  had  been  killed  and  19 
wounded,  and  one  Snake  Indian  killed  and  several 
Crow  Indians  wounded.  Gen.  Crook  resolved  to 
continue  his  pursuit  the  following  day,  but  learned 
with  dismay  from  his  Indian  allies  that  they  intended 
to  go  home.  The  Crows  said  that  they  had  captured 
a  pony,  which  they  had  left  in  their  native  village, 
and  feared  that  the  Sioux  had  attacked  the  village. 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  83 

The  snakes  complained  that  they  had  not  been  well 
supported  by  the  soldiers  in  their  attack  upon  the 
Sioux.  It  being  impossible  to  pursue  the  Sioux 
without  scouts,  Gen.  Crook  reluctantly  retreated  to 
the  Goose  Creek  camp. 


CHAPTER  VI 

OUSTER'S  LAST  RALLY. 

DEPARTURE  OF  THE  CAVALRY — MARCH  OF  THE  INFANTRY — FIRST  NEW* 
OF  THE  DISASTER— THE  RESCUE — STORY  OF  THE  BATTLE — RENO'S 
FORCE  RESCUED  TWICE — How  CUSTER  FOUGHT  TO  THE  END. 

It  was  the  Year  of  a  Hundred  Years.  The 
American  people  had  just  celebrated  the  National 
Anniversary  with  unparalleled  pomp  and  enthusiasm. 
The  International  Exposition  at  Philadelphia  was 
open  and  thronged  with  myriads  of  visitors  from 
all  parts  of  the  world.  Suddenly,  upon  the  scene 
of  universal  festivity  and  rejoicing,  fell  a  shadow  of 
a  great  tragedy.  The  first  news  of  disaster  was 
received  with  incredulity.  But  fuller  tidings  "  fol 
lowed  fast  and  followed  faster,"  until  there  was  no 
doubting  them.  Here  is  the  story,  as  written  to 
The  New  York  Tribune  from  the  camp  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Big  Horn  River,  Montana,  on  July  3d,  1876: 

"  It  is  the  eve  of  Independence  Day — the  Cen 
tennial  Fourth — and  all  the  land  is  ablaze  with  en 
thusiasm.  Alas !  if  the  tidings  of  General  Ouster's 

A  GREAT  SHADOW. 

terrible  disaster  could  be  borne  on  the  wings  of  the 
four  winds,  dirges  and  not  anthems  would  be  heard 
84 


AMD  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  85 

in  the  streets  of  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  San 
Francisco  to-morrow!  A  great  shadow  has  fallen 
upon  the  valley  of  the  Big  Horn.  The  youngest 
of  our  generals,  the  beau  sabreur  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  the  golden-haired  chief  whom  the 
Sioux  had  learned  to  dread,  has  fought  his  last  fight. 
Surrounded  by  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  brothers- 

FOUGHT  HIS  LAST  BATTLE. 

in-arms,  Custer  lies  buried  on  the  field  where  he 
fought  and  fought  and  fought  until  he  could  fight 
no  longer. 

"  Let  me  make  the  story  of  his  .death  as  simple  as 
I  can.  You  already  know  that  before  Gen.  Terry 
reached  the  mouth  of  Powder  River  he  had  sent  Ma 
jor  Reno  with  six  companies  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry 
to  scout  along  the  headwaters  of  the  stream  and  to 
join  the  main  column  at  the  mouth  of  Tongue  River. 
Major  Reno  went  as  far  as  the  Rosebud,  and  on  his 
arrival  at  the  mouth  of  Tongue  River  brought  word 
that  he  had  discovered  a  heavy  Indian  trail.  The 
command  at  once  set  out  for  the  Rosebud.  Gen. 
Gibbon's  column  was  met  on  the  left  bank,  and  was 
soon  on  the  march  in  the  same  direction.  On  June 
22d,  after  a  full  consultation  between  Gens.  Terry, 
Gibbon,  and  Custer,  a  plan  of  operations  was  ar 
ranged,  and  Gen.  Custer  started  on  his  fatal  errand. 
It  was  high  noon  when  his  regiment  set  out.  Never 
were  troops  in  better  spirits  than  those  bold  riders  ! 

VALLEY  OF  DEATH. 

As  they  disappeared  from  our  view,  half  of  them 
forever,  an  old  soldier  remarked :  '  There  goes  a 


86  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

command  of  which  even  a  corps  commander  might 
have  been  proud  during  the  Civil  War  P  Poor  fel 
lows  !  They  little  thought,  as  they  spurred  their 
horses  out  of  camp,  that  the  valley  beyond  was  the 
Valley  of  Death! 

"  Gen.  Terry  had  assured  Gen.  Custer  that  he 
would  be  at  the  forks  of  the  Big  Horn  and  the  Lit 
tle  Big  Horn  by  the  evening  of  June  26th,  and  that 
Gen.  Gibbon's  column  would  be  with  him.  Gen. 
Terry  and  his  staff,  with  Gen.  Gibbon,  steamed  up 
the  Yellowstone,  and  on  Saturday,  June  24th,  ar 
rived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Horn.  Freeman's, 
Sanno's,  Clifford's,  Logan's,  and  English's  companies 
of  the  Seventh  Infantry  were  ferried  across  the  Yel 
lowstone.  Major  Brisbin,  with  Ball's,  Thompson's, 
Whelan's,  and  Roe's  companies  of  the  Second  Cav 
alry,  and  Lowe's  Gatling  Battery,  which  had  been 
added  to  Gen.  Gibbon's  column  at  the  Rosebud, 

OFF  FOR  THE  FRAY. 

were  soon  under  marching  orders.  The  whole 
command,  with  five  day's  rations,  marched  that 
evening  to  Tullock's  Creek. 

"  On  the  next  day  we  made  an  early  start  and 
marched  with  the  infantry  23^  miles  to  the  Big 
Horn,  sit  was  an  exceedingly  hot  day,  and  there 
were  no  streams  on  the  way,  so  that  all  the  men  suf 
fered  terribly  from  thirst.  Many  of  the  soldiers  fell 
by  the  way.  Our  Indian  scouts  had  reported  that 
smoke  was  visible  in  the  distance,  and  hence  this 
forced  march  was  necessary.  We  left  the  infantry 


AND    THE   INDIAN  WAR.  87 

at  the  river,  with  orders  to  follow  in  the  morning, 
and  pushed  on  with  the  cavalry  and  battery  until 
we  reached  the  Little  Big1  Horn  at  midnight,  thus 
being  about  24  hours  in  advance  of  the  time  set  by 

DIFFICULTIES   ENCOUNTERED. 

Gen.  Terry.  It  was  a  night  of  toil  and  suffering. 
Up  and  down  bluffs,  amid  drenching  showers  and 
abyssmal  darkness,  we  pressed  on ;  yet  all  were  in 
hopeful  mood,  for  we  expected  to  strike  the  hostile 
Sioux.  We  little  knew  what  a  day  of  wrath  it  had 
been  for  our  brave  companions  ! 

"  We  finally  bivouacked,  after  having  marched 
over  12  miles.  On  Monday,  June  26th,  our  scouts 
were  sent  in  advance,  and  soon  after  we  had  re 
sumed  our  march  a  report  was  brought  in  that  a 

A  TRAIL  STRUCK. 

small  trail  had  been  struck.  Subsequently  Lieut. 
Bradley,  Chief  of  Scouts,  reported  that  he  had.  fol 
lowed  the  trail,  and  had  met  two  Crows  who  had 
joined  Custer's  command  at  the  Rosebud,  and  who 
now  reported  that  he  had  been  cut  to  pieces  on  the 
Little  Big  Horn.  The  story  was  incredible.  We 
could  not  believe  it — we  would  not  believe  it.  We 
admitted  that  Custer  might  have  struck  an  Indian 
village  and  have  had  a  fight,  but  we  would  not  listen 
to  tidings  of  his  defeat.  We  pressed  on  with  eager 
enthusiasm.  The  infantry  marched  29  miles  that 
day — indeed,  until  they  were  ready  to  drop.  As  the 
twilight  faded  away  we  saw  heavy  columns  of  smoke 
in  the  distance  and  felt  sure  that  Custer  was  ravag- 


88  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

ing  the  valley.  During  the  night  we  encamped  by 
our  arms,  and  it  was  apparent  to  those  who  knew 
him  that  a  shade  of  anxiety  hovered  over  the  face  of 
our  commander.  Night  had  come,  and  the  promised 

ANXIOUS  FOREBODINGS. 

scout  from  Custer  had  not  reported, although  we  were 
far  in  advance  of  our  promised  position.  We  had 
crossed  the  Little  Big  Horn  almost  a  day's  march 
from  its  mouth. 

"On  Tuesday,  June  27th,  clouds  of  smoke  hung 
in  front  of  us.  The  command  hastened  on  and 
soon  entered  a  beautiful  plain  over  three  miles  long. 
On  the  east  was  a  line  of  bluffs,  on  the  west  was  the 
Little  Big  Horn  with  bluffs  beyond  it.  Two  tepees 
were  still  standing,  and  in  them  lay  nine  Indian 
chiefs  with  their  dead  horses  close  by.  As  we  ad- 
vanced  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  tepee  poles  could 
be  cpunted.  Buffalo  robes,  cooking  utensils,  cloth 
ing,  and  tools  of  all  kinds  had  been  abandoned  in 
hot  haste.  There  was  no  time  to  peer  about 
and  take  notes.  There  might  be  serious  work  for 
us  to  do.  The  shadow  of  a  great  calamity  had  al 
ready  fallen  upon  us.  As  we  drew  rein  for  a  mo 
ment  we  noticed  some  United  States  regulation  sad 
dles  of  the  new  pattern.  Some  one  picked  up  a 
blood-stained  glove — it  had  been  worn  by  Yates. 
And  close  by  were  the  riddled  clothes  of  Porter  and 

A  TERRIBLE  REALITY. 

Sturgis.  A  moment  more  and  we  were  aghast  with 
horror.  Two  hundred  of  our  cavalrymen  lay  dead 


AND    THE   INDIAN   WAR.  89 

in  the  ravines  and  on  the  bluffs  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  river.  Bradley  had  gone  to  the  front  and 
counted  them,  and  now  brought  us  the  news.  The 
Crow  scouts  had  not  lied  to  us.  It  was  the  awful 
truth.  Faces  paled,  eyes  moistened,  teeth  were  set. 

"An  advance  was  now  ordered.  At  every  step 
we  found  tokens  of  the  dreadful  carnage.  Here 
was  brave  Melntosh ;  here  lay  Isaiah,  our  negro 
scout ;  close  by,  Charley  Reynolds,  the  chief  scout, 
had  bravely  met  his  fate  ;  and  here,  close  together, 
were  the  bodies  of  our  cavalrymen  and  their  horses. 
As  we  were  supping  on  these  horrors  and  asking 
ourselves  whether  any  one  had  been  left  to  describe 
the  fate  of  the  regiment,  Lieutenants  Wallace  and 
Hall  drew  near  and  informed  us  that  the  survivors 
of  seven  companies  under  Reno  and  Benteen  were 
intrenched  on  the  east  bluff  of  the  ridge  at  the  end 
of  the  plain,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river. 

"  '  Where  is  Custer  ?'  cried  a  dozen  voices. 

"  'He  left  us  Sunday  morning  with  five  companies, 
and  we  have  heard  nothing  from  him  since/ 

o 

"  Our  commander  with  a  small  escort  forded  the 
stream,  and  scaling  the  almost  perpendicular  bluffs 
joined  Reno's  force.  He  was  greeted  with  cheer 
upon  cheer.  Stout-hearted  soldiers  who  had  not 
flinched  in  the  hour  of  peril  now  wept  like  children, 
and  smiles  returned  to  the  wan  faces  of  the  wounded 
men.  The  Indians  had  retreated  when  they  saw  our 
line  of  infantry  approaching.  We  had  rescued  these 
despairing  soldiers. 


90  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

"  Now  we  had  time   to    hear   the    story  of  the 

THE  AWFUL  STORY. 

battle.  General  Custer's  regiment  had  marched 
seventy-eight  miles  without  leaving  the  saddle. 
Suddenly  the  Indian  village  was  discovered  on  a 
plain  three  miles  long.  It  was  on  Sunday  morning; 
Custer  could  not  wait,  although  the  odds  were  five 
to  one.  He  ordered  Benteen  to  make  a  detour  to 
the  left  with  three  companies,  and  instructed  him  to 
go  as  far  as  he  could  into  the  Indian  camp.  He  left 
one  company,  McDougall's,  to  protect  the  packs. 
With  the  other  eight  companies  he  pressed  on.  As 
he  approached  the  high  bluffs  surrounding  the  plain 
where  the  village  was  situated,  he  divided  his  force. 
Reno,  with  three  companies — French's,  Moyland's, 
and  Mclntosh's — was  directed  to  advance,  ford  the 
Little  Big  Horn,  and  enter  the  southern  end  of  the 
village.  Custer  himself,  with  five  companies — 
Yates's,  Keogh's,  Tom  Custer's,  Smith's,  and  Cal- 
houn's — marched  around  the  bluffs  facing  the  village 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  stream.  His  plan  of  battle 
was  very  simple.  While  Reno  was  attacking  the 
village  from  the  south,  his  own  force  would  assault 
the  Indians  on  the  flank  and  in  the  rear.  It  was  a 

THE  PLAN  OF  BATTLE. 

shrewd  plan,  but  he  overrated  the  endurance  of  his 
soldiers ;  they  were  faint  and  weary ;  they  had  been 
in  the  saddle  twenty-four  hours. 

"  Reno  advanced  along  the  plain,  meeting  with  no 
opposition  until  he  reached  a  little  grove.     Here  his 


THE   INDIAN  WAR.  93 

line  was  attacked.  He  immediately  deployed  his 
skirmishers  and  dismounted.  The  horses  were  led 
into  the  wood,  and  the  cavalrymen  engaged  the 
enemy.  The  Indians  appeared  in  immense  num 
bers.  They  attacked  him  fiercely  in  front,  and  at 
the  same  time  turned  his  left  flank  and  compelled 
his  force  to  retreat  into  the  woods.  The  Indians 
followed  in  hordes  and  drove  the  force  before  them 
to  the  river.  The  bluffs  on  the  opposite  side  were 
steep  and  high,  but  the  water  in  the  river  was  low. 

HAND-TO-HAND  FIGHTING. 

The  Indians,  flushed  with  success,  rushed  upon  our 
men,  and  a  hand-to-hand  conflict  ensued.  Here 
Mclntosh  was  shot.  Hodgson  was  shot  midway  in 
the  stream,  and  fell  before  he  could  reach  the  oppo 
site  bank.  Dr.  DeWolf  crossed  in  safety,  but  was 
killed  on  the  bluffs.  The  rest  of  the  command 
fought  their  way  up  the  heights,  with  the  Indians  in 
hot  pursuit.  Death  seemed  to  stare  every  man 
in  the  face,  when  suddenly  Benteen  came  to  the 
rescue. 

"  Benteen,  with  his  three  companies,  had  gone  to 
the  left,  according  to  Ouster's  instructions.  He 
soon  became  convinced  that  further  progress  in  that 
direction  was  impossible,  and  he  turned  back  to  join 
the  main  body.  As  he  neared  the  plain  he  received 
Custer's  last  order — to  hurry  up  the  packs.  Satis 
fying  himself  that  they  were  approaching  safely  un 
der  McDougal,  he  resumed  his  march.  Suddenly 
he  caught  sight  of  Reno's  men  rushing  up  the  bluffs 


ii 

94  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

with  the  Indians  on  all  sides  of  them.  He  dashed 
to  the  right,  charged  up  the  bluffs,  drove  back  the 

THE  RESCUE. 

Indians,  and  saved  his  despairing  comrades  from 
death.  The  Indians  were  kept  at  bay  until  night 
fell,  and  then  the  command  began  to  intrench  itself 
on  the  top  of  the  bluff. 

"  Meanwhile  where  was  Custer?  He  had  gone 
around  the  bluffs  and  had  attempted  to  ford  the 
river  at  the  northern  end  of  the  village.  The  In 
dians  were  massed  in  his  front  and  on  his  flanks. 
The  whole  command  dismounted  and  made  a  deter 
mined  resistance,  which  checked  momentarily  the 
onset  of  the  Indians.  Then  Custer  ordered  a  re 
treat,  his  force  dividing  in  order  to  take  advantage 
of  two  ravines  on  the  left  flank.  The  enemy  had 
already  appeared  in  large  force  on  the  right  and 
closed  the  door  of  escape  in  that  direction.  At  the 
head  of  the  upper  ravine  Calhoun's  company  was 
apparently  thrown  out  as  skirmishers  to  defend  the 
entrance.  Here  their  bodies  were  found  after  the 
battle ;  the  skirmish  lines  were  clearly  marked  by 

DISCOVERY  OF  THE  SLAIN. 

the  rows  of  the  slain  ;  with  heaps  of  empty  cartridge 
shells  ;  Calhoun  and  Crittenden  were  in  their  places 
— in  advance  of  the  files.  The  Indians,  baffled  for 
a  moment,  immediately  flanked  the  force  on  the  left, 
rushed  up  another  ravine  which  led  into  the  main 
one,  and  attacked  Keogh's  company.  That  gallant 
Irish  officer  fell  surrounded  by  his  solders.  Retreat 


AND    THE   INDIAN   WAR.  95 

was  cut  off  from  this  ravine,  and  the  soldiers  were 
then  killed  off  one  by  one.  Meanwhile,  the  soldiers 
in  the  other  ravine  had  been  subjected  to  a  severe 
fire.  The  line  of  retreat  led  through  a  deep  gully, 
at  the  mouth  of  which  28  men  were  killed.  They 
fought  desperately,  but  the  Indians  had  surrounded' 

A  DEATH  TRAP. 

them  and  there  was  no  escape.  Capt.  Smith 
fought  his  way  to  a  peak,  where  a  last  stand  was 
made.  They  must  have  known  that  their  hour  had 
come.  Here  were  Custer  and  hh  brother,  Adjutant 
Cook,  Capt.  Yates,  Lieut.  Riley,  Capt.  Smith,  and  a 
few  soldiers.  Making  ramparts  of  their  fallen 
horses,  they  fought  to  the  end.  Here  their  bodies 
were  found.  Custer  himself  seemed  to  be  sleeping; 
his  attitude  was  natural,  his  expression  sweet  and 
serene. 

"There  was  only  one  survivor — a  Crow  scout. 
He  crossed  the  river,  dashed  into  the  village,  seized 
a  horse,  covered  himself  with  a  Sioux  blanket,  and 
escaped.  From  his  account,  it  is  safe  to  estimate 

3,000  WARRIORS. 

the  force  of  Indians  at  3,000  warriors  and  their  loss 
in  battle  at  many  hundreds. 

"  Benteen  and  Reno  strengthened  their  position 
during  the  night  and  awaited  the  attack  of  the  In 
dians.  It  was  made  at  daybreak,  and  was  resumed 
at  intervals  during  the  day.  In  the  evening  Gib 
bon's  column  appeared  in  the  distance,  and  the  In 
dians  retreated  in  great  haste,  abandoning  the  vil- 


96  LIFE   OF  SITTING   BULL 

lage  and  a  large  quantity  of  provisions  and  ammii* 
nition.  Two  days  were  spent  by  the  troops  on  the 
battle-field.  The  dead  were  buried,  and  horse  litters 
were  constructed  for  the  transportation  of  the 
wounded  to  the  supply  steamer.  The  troops  were 
in  no  condition  to  follow  the  Indians,  and  a  retreat 
was  ordered  to  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Horn,  after  the 
ammunition  and  stores  in  the  village  had  been  de 
stroyed." 

A  few  days  later  another  correspondent  wrote  as 

ANOTHER  ACCOUNT. 

follows,  giving  further  details  of  the  awful  tragedy : 
"At  noon  on  the  22d  day  of  June,  Gen.  Custer, 
at  the  head  of  his  fine  regiment  of  twelve  veteran 
companies,  left  camp  at  the  mouth  of  tjie  Rosebud 
to  follow  the  trail  of  a  very  large  band  of  hostile 
Sioux,  leading  up  the  river  and  westward  in  the  di 
rection  of  the  Bier  Horn,  The  si^ns  indicated  that 

o  o 

the  Indians  were  making  for  the  eastern  branch  of 
the  last-named  river,  marked  on  the  map  as  the 
Little  Big  Horn.  At  the  same  time  Gen.  Terry, 
with  Col.  Gibbon's  command  of  five  companies 
of  infantry,  four  of  cavalry,  and  the  Gatlin  battery, 
started  to  ascend  the  Big  Horn,  aiming  to  assail  the 
enemy  in  the  rear.  The  march  of  the  two  columns 
was  so  planned  as  to  bring  Col.  Gibbon's  forces 
within  co-operating  distance  of  the  anticipated  scene 

PLAN  OF  ACTION. 

of  action  by  the  evening  of  the  26th.  In  this  way 
only  could  the  infantry  be  made  available,  as  it  would 


AND   THE  INDIAN   WAR.  97 

not  do  to  encumber  Gen.  Custer' s  march  with 
foot  soldiers.  On  the  evening  of  the  24th,  Col. 
Gibbon's  command  was  landed  on  the  south  bank 
of  the  Yellowstone  near  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Horn, 
and  on  the  25th  was  pushed  twenty-three  miles  over 
a  country  so  rugged  that  the  endurance  of  the  men 
was  tasked  to  the  uttermost.  The  infantry  then 
halted  for  the  night,  but  the  department  commander 
with  the  cavalry  advanced  twelve  miles  farther  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Little  Big  Horn,  marching  until 
midnight  in  the  hope  of  opening  communication 
with  Gen.  Custer. 

"The  morning  of  the  26th  brought  the  intelli 
gence,  communicated  by  three  badly  frightened 
Crow  scouts,  of  the  battle  of  the  previous  day  and 

STARTLING  REPORT. 

its  results.  The  story  was  not  credited,  because  it 
was  not  expected  that  an  attack  would  be  made 
earlier  than  the  27th,  and  chiefly  because  no  one 
could  believe  that  a  force  such  as  Gen.  Custer 
commanded  could  have  met  with  disaster.  Still  the- 
report  was  in  no  way  disregarded.  All  day  long 
the  toilsome  march  was  plied,  and  every  eye  bent 
upon  a  cloud  of  smoke  resting  over  the  southern 
horizon,  which  was  hailed  as  a  sign  that  Gen. 
Custer  was  successful,  and  had  fired  the  village.  It 
was  only  when  night  was  falling  that  the  weary 
troops  lay  down  upon  their  arms.  The  infantry  had 
marched  twenty-nine  miles.  The  march  of  the  next 
morning  revealed  at  every  step  some  evidence 


98  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

of  the  conflict  which  had  taken  place  two  days  be 
fore. 

"At  an  early  hour  the  head  of  the  column  entered 
a  plain  half  a  mile  wide,  bordering  the  left  bank  of 
the  Little  Big  Horn,  where  had  recently  been  an  im 
mense  Indian  village  extending  three  miles  along 

EVIDENCE  OF  SLAUGHTER. 

the  stream,  and  where  were  still  standing  funeral 
lodges  with  horses  slaughtered  around  them,  and 
containing  the  bodies  of  nine  chiefs.  The  ground 
was  strewn  everywhere  with  bodies  of  horses,  cav 
alry  equipments,  buffalo  robes,  packages  of  dried 
meat,  and  weapons  and  -utensils  belonging  to  the 
Indians.  On  this  part  of  the  field  was  found  the 
clothing  of  Lieuts.  Sturges  and  Porter  pierced 
with  bullets,  and  a  blood-stained  gauntlet  belonging 
to  Col.  Yates.  Farther  on  were  found  bodies 
of  men,  among  whom  were  recognized  Lieut. 
Mclntosh,  the  interpreter,  from  Fort  Rice,  and  Rey 
nolds,  the  guide.  Just  then  a  breathless  scout  ar 
rived  with  the  intelligence  that  Col.  Reno,  with 
a  remnant  of  the  yth  Cavalry,  was  entrenched  on  a 

RESCUING  COMRADES. 

bluff  near  by  waiting  for  relief.  The  command 
pushed  rapidly  on,  and  soon  came  in  sight  of  a 
group  surrounding  a  cavalry  guard  upon  a  lofty 
eminence  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river.  Gen. 
Terry  forded  the  stream,  accompanied  by  a  small 
party,  and  rode  to  the  spot.  All  the  way  the  slopes 
were  dotted  with  the  bodies  of  men  and  horses. 


AND    THE   INDIAN   WAR.  99 

The  General  approached  and  the  men  swarmed  out 
of  the  works  and  greeted  him  with  hearty  and  re 
peated  cheers.  Within  was  found  Major  Reno  with 
the  remains  of  seven  companies  of  the  regiment, 
with  the  following  named  officers,  all  of  whom  are 
unhurt:  Cols.  Benteen  and  Wier,  Capts.  Fe 
lix,  Moylan,  and  McDougal,  Lieuts.  Godfrey, 
Mathey,  Gibson,  Dernded,  Edgerly,  Wallace,  Var- 
num,  and  Hare.  In  the  centre  of  the  inclosure  was 
a  depression  in  the  surface  in  which  the  wounded 
were  sheltered,  covered  with  canvas.  Major  Reno's 
command  had  been  fighting  from  Sunday  noon,  the 
25th,  until  the  night  of  the  26th,  when  Terry's  ar 
rival  caused  the  Indians  to  retire.  Up  to  this  time 
Major  Reno  and  those  with  him  were  in  complete 
ignorance  of  the  fate  of  the  other  five  companies, 
which  had  been  separated  from  them  on  the  25th  to 
make  an  attack  under  Gen.  Custer  on  the  village 
at  another  point. 

"  While  preparations  were  being  made  for  the  re 
moval  of  the  wounded,  a  party  was  sent  on  Gen. 
Custer' s  trail  to  look  for  traces  of  his  command. 

HEART-RENDING  SIGHT. 

They  found  awaiting  them  a  sight  fit  to  appal  the 
stoutest  heart.  At  a  point  about  three  miles  down 
the  right  bank  of  the  stream  Custer  had  evidently 
attempted  to  ford  and  attack  the  villages  from  the 
ford.  The  trail  was  found  to  lead  back  up  to  the 
bluffs  and  to  the  northward,  as  if  the  troops  had 
been  repulsed  and  compelled  to  retreat,  and  at  the 


100  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

same  time  had  been  cut  off  from  regaining  the  forces 
under  Major  Reno.  The  bluffs  along  the  right 
bank  come  sharply  down  to  the  water  and  are  inter 
spersed  by  numerous  ravines.  All  along  the  slopes 
and  ridges  and  in  the  ravines,  lying  as  they  had 
fought,  line  behind  line,  showing  where  defensive 
positions  had  been  successively  taken  up  and  held 
till  none  were  left  to  fight,  lay  the  bodies  of  the 
fallen  soldiers ;  then  huddled  in  a  narrow  compass 
horses  and  men  were  piled  promiscuously. 

"At  the  highest  point  of  the  ridge  lay  Gen. 
Custer,  surrounded  by  a  chosen  band.  Here 
were  his  two  brothers  and  his  nephew,  Mr.  Reed, 
Col.  Yates  and  Col.  Cooke,  and  Capt.  Smith,  all 
lying  in  a  circle  of  a  few  yards,  their  horses  beside 
them.  Here,  behind  Col.  Yates's  company,  the 
last  stand  had  been  made,  and  here,  one  after 
another,  these  last  survivors  of  Gen.  Custer's  five 
companies  had  met  their  death.  The  companies 
had  successively  thrown  themselves  across  the  path 
of  the  advancing  enemy  and  had  been  annihilated. 

FEARFUL  SLAUGHTER. 

Not  a  man  has  escaped  to  tell  the  tale,  but  the  story 
was  inscribed  on  the  surface  of  the  barren  hills  in  a 
language  more  eloquent  than  words.  Two  hundred 
and  sixty-one  bodies  have  been  buried  from  Gen. 
Custer's  and  Major  Reno's  commands.  The  last 
one  found  was  that  of  Mr.  Kellogg,  correspondent 
of  The  Bismarck  Tribune  and  also,  I  believe,  of  The 
JVew  York  Herald. 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  IOI 

"The  following  are  the  names  of  the  officers 
whose  remains  are  recognized:  Gen,  Custer,  Col. 
Keogh,  Col.  Yates,  Col.  Custer,  Col.  Cooke,  Capt. 
Smith,  Lieut.  Mclntosh,  Lieut.  Calhoun,  Lieut 
Hodgeson,  and  Lieut.  Reilly.  All  of  these  belonged 
to  the  7th  Cavalry.  Lieut.  Crittenden,  of  the  2Oth 
Infantry,  was  serving  temporarily  with  the  regiment. 
Lieuts.  Porter,  Sturges,  and  Harrington,  and  Assistant 
Surgeon  Lord  are  reporting  missing,  as  their  remains 
were  not  recognized ;  but  there  is  small  ground  to 
hope  that  any  of 'them  survived,  as  it  is  obvious  that 
the  troops  were  completely  surrounded  by  a  force 
of  ten  times  their  number. 

"The  history  of  Major  Reno's  operations  com 
prises  all  that  is  now  known  of  this  sanguinary  affair. 
It  seems  that  Custer  with  eight  companies  reached 
the  river  in  the  forenoon  of  the  25th,  having  marched 
continuously  all  the  previous  day  and  night.  Seeing 
the  upper  or  southern  extremity  of  the  village,  and 
probably  under-estimating  its  extent,  he  ordered 
Major  Reno  to  ford  the  river  and  charge  the  village 
with  three  companies,  while  he,  with  five  companies, 
moved  down  the  right  bank  and  behind  the  bluff 
to  make  a  similar  attack  at  the  other  end.  Major 

GREATLY  OUTNUMBERED. 

Reno  made  his  charge,  but  finding  that  he  was  deal 
ing  with  a  force  many  times  his  own  in  number,  he 
dismounted  his  men  and  sought  shelter  in  the 
timber  which  fringed  the  river  bank.  The  position 
appearing  to  him  untenable,  he  remounted  and  cut 


IO2  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

his  way  to  the  river,  forded  under  a  murderous  fire, 
and  gained  the  bluff  where  he  was  subsequently 
found. 

"  Here  he  was  afterward  joined  by  Col.  Benteen 
with  three  companies  which  had  just  reached  the 
field,  and  by  Capt.  McDougal  with  his  company  and 
the  pack  mules.  The  position  was  immediately 
after  completely  invested  by  the  Indians,  who  for 
more  than  24  hours  allowed  the  garrison  no  rest 

TIMELY  RELIEF. 

and  inflicted  severe  loss.  Except  for  the  timely 
arrival  of  relief,  the  command  would  have  been  cut 
off  to  a  man.  The  number  saved  with  Major  Reno 
was  329,  including  51  wounded.  The  loss  among 
the  Indians  was  probably  considerable,  as  bodies 
have  been  found  in  every  direction,  and  they  left 
behind  only  a  small  portion  of  their  dead. 

"  He  remained  nearly  two  days  on  the  scene  of 
the  disaster  to  bury  the  dead  and  prepare  fo*  trans 
porting  the  wounded  to  a  place  of  safety.  The 
neighboring  country  was  still  full  of  scattering  bands 
of  Indians  watching  our  movements,  and  doubtless 
prepared  to  take  advantage  of  any  want  of  vigilance 
to  add  to  the  number  of  their  victims.  A  species 
of  rude  horse-litter  was  constructed  of  poles  and 
strips  of  hide,  and  on  these  the  disabled  were  carried 
twenty  miles  to  the  forks  of  the  Big  Horn,  where 
they  were  placed  on  board  the  steamer." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   DEATH   OF   CUSTER. 

Two  STORIES  OF  THE  GRIM  TRAGEDY — GENERAL  TERRY'S  OFFICIAL 
REPORT — THE  DESPERATE  MARCH  TO  THE  RELIEF  OF  RENO — 
NARRATIVE  OF  OLD  NICK  GENNEISS — A  PICTURE  RECORD  BY 
LITTLE  BIG  MAN. 

Two  accounts  of  the  Little  Big  Horn  Massacre 
are  worthy  of  rehearsal  here,  for  sake  of  contrast. 
One  is  the  official  report,  made  by  Brigadier-Gen. 
Alfred  H.  Terry,  on  June  27th,  1876,  which  was 
as  follows  : 

"  It  is  my  painful  duty  to  report  that  day  before 
yesterday,  the  25th  inst.,  a  great  disaster  overtook 
Gen.  Custer  and  the  troops  under  his  command. 
At  12  o'clock  on  the  22d  he  started  with  his  whole 
regiment  and  a  strong  detachment  of  scouts  and 
guards  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rosebud.  Proceed 
ing  up  that  river  about  twenty  miles  he  struck  a 
very  heavy  Indian  trail  which  had  previously  been 
discovered,  and  pursuing  found  that  it  led  as  was 
supposed  to  the  Little  Big  Horn  River.  Here  he 
found  a  village  of  almost  unexampled  extent,  and  at 
once  attacked  it  with  that  portion  of  his  force  which 

103 


104  LIFE   OF  SITING  BULL 

was  immediately  at  hand.  Major  Reno,  with  three 
companies,  A,  G,  and  M,  of  the  regiment,  was  sent 
into  the  valley  of  the  stream  at  the  point  where  the 
trail  struck  it.  Gen.  Custer,  with  five  companies, 
C,  E,  F,  and  L,  attempted  to  enter  it  about  three 
miles  lower  down.  Reno  forded  the  river,  charged 
down  its  left  bank,  and  dismounted  and  fought  on 
foot  until  finally,  completely  overwhelmed  by  num 
bers,  he  was  compelled  to  mount,  recross  the  river, 
and  seek  a  refuge  on  the  high  bluffs  which  over 
looked  its  right  bank.  Just  as  he  recrossed,  Capt. 
Benteen — who,  with  three  companies,  D,  H,  and  K, 
was  some  two  miles  to  the  left  of  Reno  when  the 
action  commenced,  but  who  had  been  ordered  by 
Gen.  Custer  to  return — came  to  the  river,  and 
rightly  concluding  that  it  would  be  useless  for  his 
force  to  attempt  to  renew  the  fight  in  the  valley,  he 
joined  Reno  on  the  Bluffs.  Capt.  McDougal,  with 
his  company  (B)  was  at  first  at  some  distance  in  the 
rear  with  a  train  of  pack-mules.  He  also  came  to 

SURROUNDED  BY  INDIANS. 

Reno  soon.  This  united  force  was  nearly  sur 
rounded  by  Indians,  many  of  whom,  armed  wit* 
rifles,  occupied  positions  which  commanded  the 
ground  held  by  the  cavalry — ground  from  which 
there  was  no  escape.  Rifle-pits  were  dug  and  the 
fight  was  maintained,  though  with  heavy  loss,  from 
about  half-past  2  o'clock  of  the  25th  till  6  o'clock  of 
the  26th,  when  the  Indians  withdrew  from  the  valley, 
taking  with  them  their  village. 


AND    THE  INDIAN  .  105 

"  Of  the  movements  of  Gen.  Custer  and  the  five 
companies  under  his  immediate  command  scarcely 
anything  is  known  from  those  who  witnessed  them, 

NONE  FOUND  ALIVE. 

for  no  soldier  or  officer  who  accompanied  him  has 
yet  been  found  alive,  His  trail  from  the  point 
where  Reno  crossed  the  stream  passes  along  and  in 
the  rear  of  the  crest  of  the  bluffs  on  the  right  bank 
for  nearly  or  quite  three  miles  ;  then  it  comes  down 
to  the  bank  of  the  river,  but  at  once  diverges  from 
it,  as  if  he  had  unsuccessfully  attempted  to  cross; 
then  turns  upon  itself,  almost  completes  a  circle, 
and  closes.  It  is  marked  by  the  remains  of  his  offi 
cers  and  men,  the  bodies  of  his  horses,  some  of  them 
dropped  along  the  path,  others  heaped  where  halts 
appear  to  have  been  made.  There  is  abundant  evi 
dence  that  a  gallant  resistance  was  offered  by  the 
troops,  but  they  were  beset  on  all  sides  by  overpow 
ering  numbers. 

KNOWN  TO  HAVE  FALLEN. 

"  The  officers  known  to  be  killed  are :  Gen.  Custer, 
Capts.  Keogh,  Yates,  and  Custer;  Lieuts.  Cooke, 
Smith,  Mclntosh,  Calhoun,  Porter,  Hodgson,  Stur- 
gis,  and  Reilley,  of  the  cavalry;  Lieut.  Crittenden, 
of  the  20th  Infantry,  and  Acting  Assistant  Surgeon 
DeWolf.  Lieut.  Harrington,  of  the  cavalry,  and 
Assistant  Surgeon  Lord  are  missing.  Capt.  Ben- 
teen  and  Lieut.  Varnum,  of  the  cavalry,  are  slightly 
wounded.  Mr.  Boston  Custer,  a  brother,  and  Mr. 
Reed,  a  nephew  of  Gen.  Custer  were  with  him  and 


LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

were  killed.  No  other  officers  than  those  whom  I  have 
named  are  among  the  killed,  wounded,  and  missing. 
It  is  impossible  yet  to  obtain  a  reliable  list  of  the 
enlisted  men  who  were  killed  and  wounded,  but  the 
number  of  killed,  including  officers  must  reach  250. 
The  number  of  wounded  is  51. 

"At  the  mouth  of  the  Rosebud  I  informed  Gen. 
Custer  that  I  should  take  supply  steamer  "Far  West" 
up  the  Yellowstone  to  ferry  Gen.  Gibbon's  column 
over  the  river ;  that  I  should  personally  accompany 
that  column,  and  that  I  would  in  all  probability 
reach  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Big  Horn  on  the  26th 
inst.  The  steamer  reached  Gen.  Gibbon's  troops 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Horn  early  in  the  morn 
ing  of  the  24th,  and  at  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
all  his  men  and  animals  were  across  the  Yellowstone. 

PUSHING  FORWARD. 

At  5  o'clock  the  column,  consisting  of  five  companies 
of  the  7th  Infantry,  four  companies  of  the  2d  Cav 
alry,  and  a  battery  of  Gatling  guns,  marched  out 
to  and  across  Tullock's  Creek,  starting  soon  after 
5  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  25th.  The  infantry 
made  a  march  of  >>2  miles  over  the  most  difficult 
country  which  I  have  ever  seen,  in  order  that  scouts 
might  be  sent  into  the  valley  of  jie  Little  Big  Horn. 
The  cavalry  with  the  battery  was  then  pushed  en  13 
or  14  miles  further,  reaching  camp  at  midnight. 
The  scouts  were  sent  out  at  4.30  on  the  morning  of 

INDIANS  DISCOVERED. 

the  26th.     The  scouts  discovered  the  Indians,  who 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR. 

were  at  first  supposed  to  be  Sioux,  but  whenever 
taken  they  proved  to  be  Crows,  who  had~  been  with 
Gen.  Custer.  They  brought  the  first  intelligence  of 
the  battle.  Their  story  was  not  credited.  It  was 
supposed  that  some  fighting,  perhaps  severe  fight 
ing,  had  taken  place,  but  it  was  not  believed  that 
disaster  could  have  overtaken  so  large  a  force  as  1 2 
companies  of  cavalry.  The  infantry,  which  had 
broken  camp  very  early,  soon  came  up,  and  the 
whole  column  entered  and  moved  up  the  valley  of 
the  Little  Big  Horn.  During  the  afternoon  efforts 
were  made  to  send  scouts  through  to  what  was  sup 
posed  to  be  Gen.  Custer's  position,  and  to  obtain 
information  of  the  condition  of  affairs,  but  those 
who  were  sent  out  were  driven  back  by  parties  of 
Indians  who,  in  increasing  numbers,  were  seen 
hovering  in  Gen.  Gibbon's  front. 

"At  twenty  minutes  before  nine  o'clock  in  the 
evening  the  infantry  had  marched  between  twenty- 
nine  and  thirty  miles.  The  men  were  very  weary, 
and  daylight  was  fading.  The  column  was,  there 
fore,  halted  for  the  night  at  a  point  about  eleven 
miles  in  a  straight  line  above  the  stream.  This 
morning  the  movement  was  resumed,  and,  after  a 
march  of  nine  miles,  Major  Reno's  intrenched  posi 
tion  was  reached.  The  withdrawal  of  the  Indians 
from  around  Reno's  command  and  from  the  valley 
was  undoubtedly  caused  by  the  appearance  of 
Gen.  Gibbon's  troops.  Major  Reno  and  Capt. 
Benteen,  both  of  whom  are  officers  of  great  expe« 
7 


LIPE    Of  SITTING    BULL 

rience,  accustomed  to  see  large  masses  of  mounted 

THE  INDIAN  FORCES. 

men,  estimate  the  number  of  Indians  engaged  at 
not  less  than  two  thousand  five  hundred.  Other 
officers  think  that  the  number  was  greater  than  this. 
The  village  in  the  valley  was  about  three  miles  in 
length  and  about  a  mile  in  width.  Beside  the 
lodges  proper,  a  great  number  of  temporary  brush 
wood  shelters  were  found  in  it,  indicating  that  many 
men  beside  its  proper  inhabitants  had  gathered  to 
gether  there.  Major  Reno  is  very  confident  that 
there  were  a  number  of  white  men  fighting  with  the 
Indians.  It  is  believed  that  the  loss  of  the  Indians 
was  large." 

A  second  version  of  the  story,  brief,  epigrammatic, 
and  thoroughly  Indian-like,  was  given  many  years 
afterward  by  Old  Nick  Genneiss,  of  the  Pine  Ridge 

OLD  NICK'S  STORY. 

Reservation.  He  related  it  to  Miss  Sickels,  an  ac 
complished  teacher,  who  spent  much  time  among 
the  Sioux,  as  they  rode  through  the  Black  Hills 
country  along  the  edge  of  the  Bad  Lands,  among 
the  wash-outs  and  buttes,  "  like  the  lay  of  the  land 
where  the  Custer  fight  was,"  he  said. 

"  Folks  blame  me  for  putting  Red  Cloud  up  to 
things.  I've  been  with  him  so  much,  He  talks  to 
me,  and  many  times  has  told  me  what  he  aims  to 
do,  and  many  times  I've  helped  him,  but  he  is  a  very 
set  kind  of  man.  He  don't  stand  out  for  nobody, 
'cept,  perhaps,  his  squaw.  She  makes  it  lively  for 


MAJOR-GENERAL  SCHOFIELD,  U.  S.  A. 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  Ill 

him  sometimes.  She  won't  'low  no  other  squaw  to 
his  house.  One  come  once,  but  she  didn't  stay, 
I've  been  with  him  off-and-on  most  of  the  time  for 
twenty  years,  when  the  tribe  has  been  movin'  from 
place  to  place,  first  on  the  Platte  River,  then  over 
to  the  Missouri,  then  back  again  to  the  White,  near 
the  Bad  Lands,  where  we  be  now.  I  was  with  them 
up  in  Montana,  where  Custer  got  killed.  It  was  in 
a  place  something  like  that."  He  pointed  to  a  kind 
of  ravine  that  had  been  the  bed  of  a  creek.  The 
country  is  full  of  abrupt  gulches  or  "  wash-outs," 
some  overgrown  with  grass,  others  immense  masses 
of  alkali  clay,  deeply  seamed  by  the  inroads  of  wind 
and  water.  Frequently  the  road  follows  the  bed  of 
the  "  dry  creek,"  winding  for  miles  between  banks 
so  high  that  they  shut  out  the  prospect  of  the  coun 
try  on  both  sides,  and  vividly  suggest  the  stories  of 
ambush  and  the  possibilities  of  invisible  foes  lurking 
on  either  hand  or  concealed  among  the  many  ragged 
recesses  that  lie  along  the  way. 

POSITION  OF  THE  SIOUX. 

"  The  Sioux  was  camped  in  one  of  the  loops  of 
the  creek  where  there  was  grass  and  trees  and 
water.  It  was  in  so  deep  you  couldn't  see  'em  'til 
you  got  there.  The  creek  turned  so  sudden  and 
the  banks  was  so  high  you  had  to  go  along  the  creek 
if  you  started  that  way.  Custer's  scouts  hadn't 
seen  nor  known  of  our  bein'  there.  He  come 
along  down  the  path  of  the  creek,  slap  onto  'em, 
before  he  knew  anythin'  'bout  it.  They  seen  him 


112  LIFE    OF  SITTING  J3ULL 

comin'  and  closed  together  'cross  the  openin'  of  the 
loop,  so  he  couldn't  get  back.  He  couldn't  get  out, 
'cause  the  wash-outs  was  too  high.  It  was  all  done 
so  quick  the  soldiers  didn't  have  time  to  shoot. 
Nobody  got  away.  No  white  man,  'cept  us  as  be 
longs  to  the  tribe,  went  into  that  country  for  over  a 
year.  There  was  lots  o'  arrows  lyin'  'round  and 
only  few  bullets.  When  everything  was  all  over  I 
went  to  Washington  with  the  chief,  actin'  as  inter 
preter." 

Nick  Genneiss  now  lives  with  his  Indian  wife  and 
children  on  his  ranch,  a  prosperous  cattle  dealer, 
sharing  the  rations.  He  has  invested  them  quite 
successfully.  There  are  also  good  indications  of 
thrift  among  the  full-blooded  Indians,  who  raise 
stock  and  till  the  land — so  far  as  it  is  possible  to 
raise  anything  in  that  arid  country.  A  number  have 
devoted  the  same  energy  to  a  life  of  peace  and  in 
dustry  which  made  them  famous  on  the  war-path. 

One  of  these  was  Little  Big  Man,  one  of  the  most 
active  participants  in  the  terrible  massacre.  He 
was  a  frequent  visitor  at  Miss  Sickels's  school,  hav 
ing  been  one  of  the  first  to  bring  children.  His 
daughter  Oohoola  was  a  very  attractive  child  of 
sweet  disposition,  pretty  and  plump,  notwithstand 
ing  the  significance  of  her  name,  "  Bones."  She 
said  plaintively,  "Me  not  Oohoola;  me  Maud." 
The  teachers  had  at  first  spoken  of  changing  her 
name  to  Maud,  but  thinking  Oohoola  musical,  re 
tained  it  until  her  sensitiveness  at  the  boys'  teasing 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  1 13 

MAUD  LITTLE  BIG  MAN. 

prompted  her  request.  Maud  Little  Big  Man  be 
came  one  of  the  brightest  pupils.  Her  fathei  was 
very  proud  of  her  progress.  "  Our  mutual  interest 
in  her,"  says  Miss  Sickels,  "  was  the  foundation  of 
quite  a  friendship.  He  always  took  great  satisfac 
tion  in  showing  his  silver-headed  cane  given  him  by 
the  Great  Father,  and  in  displaying  his  silver  medal, 
on  which  was  inscribed,  *  Given  to  Little  Big  Man 
for  valiant  services  at  the  death  of  Crazy  Horse.' 
He  very  readily  conversed  about  his  trip  to  Wash 
ington  and  of  school  or  agency  matters,  but  he  was 
reticent  about  any  allusions  to  former  escapades  on 
the  war-path.  Any  question  or  reference  to  that 
was  met  by  that  impenetrable,  uncomprehending 
look  by  which  the  Indian  can  so  perfectly  conceal 
his  thoughts.  I  do  not  know  whether  it  was  a  wish 
to  bury  the  past  or  reluctance  to  commit  himself  to 
any  confidences.  He  had  promised  to  be  a  good 
citizen  and  fulfilled  his  promise  so  long  as  he  lived, 
although  it  may  be  a  matter  of  doubt  what  side  he 
would  have  taken  in  an  outbreak.  Personal  spites 
slumber  until  a  general  insurrection  with  its  attend 
ing  lawlessness  gives  an  opportunity  to  wreak  the 
delayed  vengeance. 

"  Tanka  Cical  Wacasa    (Little    Big    Man)    was 

LITTLE  BIG  MAN. 

called  Little  on  account  of  his  size — he  measured 
five  feet  four.  The  appellation  Big  was  given  on 
account  of  his  valor.  Whenever  he  made  his  ap- 


1!4  LIFE   OF  SITTING  HULL 

pearance  among  a  group  of  young  bucks  they  im 
mediately  recognized  his  authority  by  rising  and 
standing  until  he  was  seated.  One  day  he  showed 
me  a  document  that  was  given  him  by  the  President, 
setting  forth  his  good  qualities  and  allowing  him 
especial  privileges.  I  asked  him  to  tell  me  about 


INDIAN    PICTURE  OF  THE   CUSTER   FIGHT — THE  CAVALRYMEN. 

Crazy  Horse  and  the  '  time  the  great  white  chief 
was  killed,'  He  did  not  seem  to  understand  me,  so 
I  said,  '  If  you  cannot  tell  me  anything  about  it,  will 
you  make  a  picture  showing  your  idea  of  it?'  He 
promised  to  do  so.  I  provided  him  with  pencils  and 
paper.  A  few  weeks  after  he  brought  me  two 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  J  15 

sketches,  one  representing  the  Custer  fight,  the 
other  a  personal  encounter  he  had  had  with  the  he 
reditary  enemies  of  his  tribe — the  Crows.  I  asked 
him  where  he  was  ;  he  pointed  to  the  solitary  brave 
wearing  two  horns. 

"  '  Where  are  the  other  Indians  ?' 


SAME — THE   INDIANS. 


u  '  Back  there.     Then  arrows  come.' 

"  Making  due  allowance  for  their  inordinate  love 

o 

of  praise  that  prompts  them  to  draw  on  their  imag 
ination  to  supply  what  deficiency  opportunity  has 
failed  to  provide  it  is  probable  that  the  idea  of  the 
sketch  is  not  exaggerated  and  that  he  rushed  into 
the  fight  wherever  the  fray  was  thickest.'1 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

CUSTER. 

THE  BEAU  SABTIEUR  OF  THE  ARMY — BRILLIANT  SE  IVICES  AS  A  CAVALRY 
OFFICER  IN  MANY  BATTLES  DURING  THE  REBELLION — THE  COMRADE 
OF  PHIL.  KEARNEY  AND  PHIL.  SHERIDAN — His  WORK  AS  AN  INDIAN 
FIGHTER — A  SOLDIER  WHO  NEVER  KNEW  WHAT  FEAR  WAS,  AND 
WHO  NEVER  LOST  A  GUN  OR  A  COLOR  UNTIL  His  LAST  BATTLE. 

George  A.  Custer,  the  hero  and  the  victim  of  the 
Little  Big  Horn,  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  seemed 
born  to  be  a  soldier.  He  was  barely  of  age  when 
he  began  active  service  in  the  conflict  which  was 
destined  to  bring  him  so  much  honor,  and  was  but 
36  years  of  age  when  he  fell  at  the  head  of  his  col 
umn,  after  a  short  life  crowded  with  brilliant  deeds. 
His  birth-place  was  New-Rumley,  Harrison  County, 
Ohio;  the  date,  December  5th,  1839.  Before  en 
tering  West  Point  he  had  received  an  ordinary  Eng 
lish  education  and  had  taught  in  schools.  The  his 
tory  of  his  life  at  the  Military  Academy  he  has  told 
himself  in  one  of  the  most  recent  of  his  many  con 
tributions  to  periodical  literature.  His  appointment 
was  obtained  through  the  Hon.  John  S.  Bingham, 
116 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  H^ 

the  Representative  of  his  district,  and  the  official 
notification  of  his  appointment  was  signed  by  Jeffer 
son  Davis,  President  Buchanan's  Secretary  of  War. 
He  entered  the  Academy  in  1857,  when  Colonel 
Richard  Delafield  was  Superintendent,  and  Lieuten 
ant-Colonel  Wm.  J.  Hardee,  who  afterward  became 
Lieutenant-General  of  the  Confederate  Army,  com 
manded  the  corps  of  cadets.  A  large  number  of 
those  who  were  in  the  institution  during  the  period 

DESTINY. 

of  his  continuance  there  was  destined,  like  himself, 
to  take  a  prominent  part  in  the  approaching  strug 
gle.  Thirteen  of  his  instructors  during  that  time 
afterward  reached  the  rank  of  Major-General  in  the 
Union  Army,  and  five  others  attained  high  rank  in 
the  Confederate  forces.  Among  the  former  were 
"  Lieutenant  William  B.  Hazen,  instructor  of  infan 
try  tactics;"  "Lieutenant  John  M.  Schofield,  in 
structor  of  natural  philosophy ;"  Lieutenants  George 
L.  Hartsuff,  O.  O.  Howard,  Alexander  Webb,  and 
Godfrey  Weitzel.  Fitzhugh  Lee  was  best  known 
of  the  Confederates.  Of  Custer's  fellow  cadets,  a  num 
ber  arrived  at  early  distinction  on  both  sides.  Among 
those  who  choose  to  serve  the  Union  cause  were 
Hardin,  Kilpatrick  and  Upton.  Rosser  and  Young 
were  among  the  Confederates.  Seven,  including 
Custer,  won  the  rank  of  brigadier  on  the  Union  side 
within  three  years  after  graduation,  and  five  became 
general  officers  in  the  Confederate  army.  Of  these 
twelve,  nine  attained  rapid  promotion  in  the  cav- 


H8  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

airy  service.  Cadet  Custer  did  not  make  a  brilliant 
record  either  for  scholarship  or  discipline.  He  grad- 

NOT  BRILLIANT. 

uated  at  the  foot  of  a  class  of  34,  and  spent  66  Sat 
urdays  during  the  four  years  of  his  academic  term 
in  doing  extra  guard  duty  in  penance  for  various 
offenses.  His  stay  terminated  with  an  incident  char 
acteristic  of  the  man.  It  was  when  most  of  the 
Southern  cadets  had  withdrawn  from  the  Academy, 
and  Custer'  own  class  were  waiting  for  the  order 
from  Washington  announcing  their  admission  to  the 
roll  of  officers  of  the  army.  Custer  was  officer  of 
the  guard,  and  came  upon  a  group  of  disputants 
who  were  just  resorting  to  blows.  Instead  of  putting 
the  brawlers  under  arrest,  he  even  restrained  those 
who  were  attempting  to  restrain  them,  and  called 

FAIR  PLAY. 

out,  "Stand  back,  boys;  let's  have  a  fair  fight." 
His  appeal  was  heard  by  Lieutenants  Hazen  and 
Merrell ;  he  was  placed  under  arrest  and  kept  be 
hind  to  be  court-martialed,  while  the  rest  of  his  class 
went  on  to  Washington  to  enter  active  service.  The 
court-martial  was  as  slow  and  formal  as  a  trial  of 
impeachment,  and  it  was  only  through  the  exertions 
of  his  fellow  cadets  in  Washington  that  the  proceed 
ing  was  cut  short  by  a  telegraphic  order  summoning 
him  there.  Presenting  himself  at  the  War  Depart 
ment,  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  obtain  a  personal 
interview  with  General  Scott,  whom  he  asked  to 
send  him  to  the  front  at  once  for  active  duty,  and 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR. 

by  whom  he  was  intrusted  with  dispatches  for  Gen- 

FIRST  EXPERIENCE. 

eral  McDowell.  The  all-night  ride  which  bore  these 
dispatches  was  his  first  work  as  an  officer.  This 
was  the  2Oth  of  July,  1861,  the  day  before  the  battle 
of  Bull  Run.  Custer  was  just  of  age,  and  was  now 
second  lieutenant,  Company  G,  of  the  2d  United 
States  Cavalry,  once  commanded  by  Robert  E.  Lee. 
His  first  day's  service  was  a  memorable  one.  It 
was  3  o'clock  in  the  morning  on  the  day  of  the  bat 
tle  of  Bull  Run  when  he  reached  General  McDow 
ell's  headquarters,  and  after  delivering  his  dispatches 
and  eating  a  hasty  breakfast — the  last  thing  he 
was  to  eat  for  thirty  hours — he  joined  his  com 
pany  while  it  was  still  dark.  It  was  not  long  before 
he  was  stationed  in  the  line  of  battle.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  rehearse  the  incidents  of  this  well- 
remembered  engagement,  though  General  Custer 
himself  has  given  a  graphic  description  of  it.  The 
sudden  change  in  the  fortunes  of  the  day  brought 
about  by  the  unlooked  for  arrival  of  rebel  re-enforce 
ments,  came  just  when  Custer  and  a  companion — 
so  says  General  Custer  in  his  account — were  con 
gratulating  themselves  ''upon  the  glorious  victory 
which  already  seemed  to  have  been  won."  They 
were  at  that  moment  on  a  high  ridge  near  the  ad 
vancing  line.  Suddenly  "  our  attention  was  attracted 
by  a  long  line  of  troops  appeariug  behind  us  on  the 
edge  of  the  timber  already  mentioned.  Before 
doubts  could  arise  we  saw  the  Confederate  flag 


120  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

floating  over  a  portion  of  the  line  just  emerging 
from  the  timber ;  the  next  moment  the  entire  line 
leveled  their  muskets  and  poured  a  volley  into  the 
backs  of  our  advancing  regiments."  In  the  frantic 
retreat  that  followed,  Custer's  company  came  among 
the  last,  in  good  order,  and  bringing  with  it  General 
Heintzelman,  who  had  been  wounded. 

After  the  appointment  of  McClellan  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  army — who  Custer  always  insisted, 
would  have  suppressed  the  Rebellion,  if  he  had  pro 
per  help  from  Washington — Lieutenant  Custer  was 

PROMOTED. 

chosen  as  a  staff  officer  by  Phil.  Kearney,  who  had 
just  been  commissioned  a  Brigadier-General,  and 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  Jersey  Brigade.  He  was  the 
first  staff  officer  detailed  by  Kearney,  and  was  first 
made  aid-de-camp,  and  afterward  assistant  adjutant- 
general.  This  position  he  continued  to  hold  until 
deprived  of  it  by  a  general  order  prohibiting  ser 
vice  on  the  staffs  of  volunteer  officers  by  officers 
of  the  regular  army,  but  Kearney  did  not  allow  him 
to  leave  his  staff  without  a  handsome  acknowledg 
ment  of  his  services.  When  Manassas  was  evac 
uated  by  the  Rebels  his  company  formed  part  of 
that  detachment  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  which 
marched  to  Manassas.  The  cavalry  was  under  the 
command  of  General  Stoneman,  in  whose  hands 
the  work  of  organizing  and  drilling  the  cavalry  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  been  placed,  but  who 
"proved  himself  deficient,"  in  Custer's  opinion,  "in 


AND  THE  INDTAN  WAR.  I2t 

almost  every  necessary  quality  requisite  to  the  suc 
cess  of  a  calvary  leader." 

It  was  of  the  branch  of  the  service  with  which  he 

CRITICISM  OF  STONEMAN. 

was  immediately  connected  that  General  Custer 
said,  in  one  of  his  articles  :  "  The  record  of  the 
cavalry  while  operating  under  Stoneman,  contains 
nothing  to  its  credit  as  a  separate  organization,  and 
worse  than  nothing  if  successes  are  looked  for  upon 
which  to  base  its  leader's  claim  to  the  title  of  chief 
of  cavalry."  On  the  march  just  referred  to,  the 
cavalry  met  the  enemy's  cavalry  near  Catlett's 
Station,  and  when  volunteers  were  called  for  to  lead 
the  charge,  Lieutenant  Custer  came  to  the  front. 
Here  he  made  the  first  of  that  series  of  brilliant 
charges,  the  last  of  which  carried  him  to  a  bloody 
grave.  He  drove  the  Rebels  across  Muddy  Creek, 
and  they  had  the  honor  of  "  drawing  the  first  blood" 
in  McClellan's  campaign.  He  seems  to  have  been 
first  pretty  much  everywhere,  Before  Yorktown  he 
planned  and  threw  up  the  earthwork  which  was 
nearest  to  the  enemy's  lines;  he  was  in  the  advance  of 
the  pursuit  of  the  Confederate  forces  fromYorktown. 
and  at  the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  where  he  was  aid- 
de-camp  to  General  Hancock,  he  effected  the  first 

THE  FIRST  BATTLE-FLAG  CAPTURE. 

capture  of  a  battle-flag  made  by  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac;  and  he  was  the  first  man  to  cross  the 
Chickahominy,  "wading  up  to  his  armpits,"  under 
the  fire  of  the  enemy,  and  being  rewarded  for 


LIFE   GF  SITTING  BULL 

this  act  of  bravery  by  General  McClellan  with  a  pro 
motion  to  the  rank  of  captain,  and  an  appointment 
as  personal  aid  to  that  general.  He  was  an  active 
participant  in  the  whole  of  the  Peninsular  campaign, 
and  was  in  every  battle,  and  was  also  in  the  cam 
paign  which  closed  with  the  battles  of  South  Moun 
tain  and  Antictam.  He  followed  General  McClel 
lan  into  retirement,  and  did  not  re-enter  active  ser 
vice  until  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville. 

His  gallantry  in  this  battle  procured  him  an  ap 
pointment  from  General  Pleasanton  as  a  personal 
aid,  under  whom  he  fought  on  many  fields,  notably 
at  Beverly  Fords,  Upperville,  and  Barbour's  Cross 

A  GREAT  PROMOTION. 

Roads.  Custer  now  received  his  great  promotion, 
going  at  one  bound  to  a  brigadier-generalship.  His 
appointment  was  made  through  General  Pleasanton, 
who  had  been  made  a  Major-General  and  placed  in 
command  of  a  cavalry  corps,  and  wished  to  have 
Custer  as  one  of  his  four  brigadiers.  It  was  Cus 
ter' s  brigade  that  routed  Hampton's  cavalry  at  Get 
tysburg  and  protected  the  Union  train.  It  was  Cus- 
ter's  brigade,  too,  that  pursued  the  Confederate  train 
when  in  retreat  after  Gettysburg,  destroyed  more 
than  400  wagons  and  captured  more  than  1,800  pris 
oners.  It  was  Custer's  brigade,  too,  that  attacked 
the  rear  guard  while  it  was  crossing  the  Potomac, 
routing  it  with  a  loss  of  1,300  prisoners,  to  say 
nothing  of  battle-flags  and  cannon.  He  was  en 
gaged  in  the  opening  battle  of  the  Wilderness  in 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  12  3 

the  Spring  of  1864,  and  accompanied  General  Sheri 
dan  in  the  raid  toward  Richmond,  on  which  they  set 
out  on  May  9th.  Naturally  his  brigade  led  the  col 
umn,  and  capturing  Beaver  Dam  set  free  400  Union 
prisoners.  Coming  back  to  Grant's  army  he  fought 

DESPERATE  BATTLES. 

in  several  battles.  One  was  a  most  desperate  con 
flict,  in  which  this  brave  General  showed  all  his  in 
domitable  bravery  and  pluck.  It  was  at  the  battle 
of  Trevillian  Station,  where  he  surprised  the  ene 
my's  rear,  but  the  attack  that  was  to  have  been 
made  at  the  same  time  in  front  was  delayed,  and  the 
enemy  closed  in  on  Custer.  There  were  five  brig 
ades  against  one,  but  the  fierce  fight  lasted  three 
hours.  Guns  were  captured  only  to  be  recaptu.^d, 
and  Custer,  when  his  standard-bearer  had  been 
killed,  only  saved  his  flag  from  capture  oy  tearing  it 
from  the  staff  and  wrapping  it  around  his  own  body. 
Help  finally  came,  and  he  was  able  to  withdraw  in 
good  order. 

He  marked  the  closing  months  of  the  war  by  a 
succession  of  brilliant  achievements.  At  Winches 
ter  his  brigade  fought  from  dawn  until  after  dark, 
and  was  first  through  the  lines  of  the  enemy.  Nine 
battle-flags  and  more  than  one  prisoner  to  every 
man  in  the  brigade  were  the  trophies  of  the  day, 

LARGER  COMMAND. 

He  was  then  put  in  command  of  the  second  and 
then  the  third  division  of  cavalry  of  the  Army  of  the 
Shenandoah.  When  Sheridan  reached  the  field  of 


LIFE  OF -SITTING  BULL 

Cedar  Creek,  after  the  ride  which  has  become  fa 
mous,  Custer's  division  was  alone  ready  for  action, 
and  Sheridan's  order  was  "Go  in,  Custer  !"  Custer 
hardly  needed  the  order.  He  drove  the  enemy  off 
the  field,  captured  45  out  of  their  48  cannon  and 
several  hundred  prisoners.  For  this  achievement 
he  was  brevetted  major-general.  On  the  9th  of 
October  he  encountered  one  of  his  former  fellow 
cadets,  General  Rosser,  and  routed  him,  taking 
many  prisoners  and  trophies,  and  for  this  the  War 
Department  thanked  him  in  a  special  order.  At 
Waynesboro,  in  February,  1865,  Custer,  with  about 
1,000  men,  routed  Jubal  Early  with  2,000,  and  cap 
tured  i, 800  prisoners  and  200  wagons,  besides  flags 
and  cannon.  All  this  at  an  expense  of  one 
man  killed  and  four  wounded.  In  the  final  cam 
paign  before  Richmond,  Custer  converted  the  battle 
of  Dinwiddie  C.  H.  from  an  impending  rout  into 
actual  victory.  At  Five  Forks  his  division  was  first 
in  crossing  the  works  of  the  enemy,  At  Sailor's 
Creek,  when  two  unsuccessful  attempts  had  been 
made  to  delay  the  enemy's  retreat,  Sheridan  cried 

SHERIDAN'S  COMPLIMENT. 

out,  "  I  wish  to  God  old  Custer  was  here  ;  he  would 
have  been  into  the  enemy's  train  before  this  time." 
(Custer  was  25;  Sheridan  ten  years  his  senior.) 
What  followed  is  thus  described  in  "  Ohio  in  the 
War:" 

Accordingly,    "  Old  Custer's"    was  ordered  in- 
to  the  ftp-hit.     The  men  charged  gallantly,  and  actu 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR. 

ally  leaped  their  horses  over  the  breastworks. 
Lieutenant  T.  W.  Custer,  the  General's  brother  and 
aid  (also  killed  at  the  Little  Horn),  was  among  the 
first  to  enter  the  works,  which  he  did  in  the  manner 
described:  He  snatched  a  rebel  standard  from  its 

SHOT  IN  THE  NECK. 

bearer,  and  received  a  Minnie  ball  through  his 
cheek  and  neck.  He,  however,  retained  his  trophy, 
and  shot  down  his  opponent  with  a  pistol.  The  di 
vision  destroyed  a  large  number  of  wagons,  cap 
tured  1 6  pieces  of  artillery.  31  battle-flags,  and 
5,000  prisoners,  including  seven  general  officers, 
among  them  Custis  Lee,  a  son  of  Robert  E.  Lee  ; 
Semmes,  brother  of  pirate  Semmes,  and  Ewell. 
After  the  battle  Custer  was  riding*up  to  General 
Sheridan,  who  was  surrounded  by  his  staff  and  oth 
er  officers  of  rank,  when  the  latter  and  all  the  staff 
with  caps  waving,  proposed  three  cheers  for  Custer, 
which  were  given  with  a  will." 

At  Appomattox  Court  House,  Custer  was  in  the 
advance  and  was  the  first  to  receive  General  Lee's 
white  flag,  which  he  retained.  The  table  upon 
which  the  terms  of  surrender  were  signed  was  pre 
sented  to  Mrs.  Custer  by  General  Sheridan,  with  a 
letter  in  which  he  said  to  her,  that  he  knew  <4  of  no 
person  more  instrumental  in  bringing  about  this 
most  desirable  event  than  her  own  most  gallant  hus 
band.0  For  these  last  exploits  he  was  made  Major- 
General  of  Volunteers,  and  was  given  an  important 
command  in  Texas,  from  which  he  was  relieved  Feb- 

cJ 


126  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

ruary  I5th,  1866.  In  the  reorganization  of  the 
army  he  was  made  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  7th 
Cavalry,  with  the  brevet  rank  of  Major-General  in 
the  regular  service. 

After  the  war,  General  Custer  was  engaged  in  a 
number  of  expeditions  'against  the  Indians.     The 

FIRST  EXPEDITION. 

h'rst  of  those  was  organized  and  led  by  General 
Hancock  in  the  opening  of  1867.  Its  object  was,  in 
General  Hancock's  own  words,  "to  convince  the 
Indians  that  we  were  able  to  punish  any  of  them 
who  may  molest  travelers  across  the  plains,  or  who 
may  commit  other  hostilities  against  the  whites." 
There  was  considerable  fighting,  but  the  losses  of 
the  Indians  were  comparatively  slight.  Another  was 
sent  out  in  October,  1868,  south  of  the  Arkansas, 
toward  the  Wichita  Mountains.  On  this  expedition 
the  battle  of  the  Washita  was  fought  in  which 
General  Custer  destroyed  a  Cheyenne  village  and 
took  a  number  of  prisoners,  the  Indians  having  103 
warriors  killed.  Others  followed  without  special 
incident.  In  1873  ne  commanded  the  Yellowstone 
Expedition,  sent  out  as  an  escort  to  a  surveying 
party,  which  was  to  mark  out  the  uncompleted  por 
tions  of  the  road.  This  expedition  did  some  fighting 

TONGUE  RIVER  BATTLE. 

with  the  Sioux.  One  battle  was  on  the  Tongue 
River,  a  branch  of  the  Yellowstone,  flowing  fnto  it 
from  the  south  in  a  direction  parallel  with  the  Big 
Horn,  of  which  the  Little  Horn  is  a  branch,  having 


AND.   THE  INDIAN  IVAR. 


its  source  in  the  country  between  the  parallel 
;  streams  and  flowing  northerly.  The  engagement 
!  on  the  Tongue  River  took  place  on  August  4th, 
General  Custer  had  proceeded  up  the 


-•  Yellowstone   as    far   as  the  mouth  of  the  Tongue 

•  River,  with  a    squadron  of  90   men,  to  explore  a 

route  over  which  the   main    column  of  his    forces 

could   pass.     When  waiting  at  that  point  for  the 

arrival  of  the  forces  of  the  expedition,  and  his  men 

being  dismounted,  six  Sioux  Indians  on  horseback 

dashed    before    them  and    attempted  to   stampede 

>  their  horses.     Failing  in  this,  they  retired  as  though 

tempting  pursuit,  and  on  seeing  that  the  squadron 

did  not  fall  into  the  net  they  had  prepared,  with 

ATTACK  OF  300. 

characteristic  yells  over  '300  mounted  warriors 
dashed  in  line  from  the  woods  and  attacked  the 
Government  soldiers.  With  the  river  on  one  side, 
they  were  able  to  entirely  encompass  the  squadron 
by  forming  a  semi-circle  on  the  other.  But  after  a 
fight  of  three  and  one-half  hours,  the  Indians  were 
compelled  to  take  flight,  carrying  their  dead  with 
them,  but  leaving  five  ponies  on  the  field,  besides 
throwing  away  in  their  flight  breech-loading  arms, 
saddle  equipments,  clothing  and  other  articles  belong 
ing  to  an  Indian's  outfit. 

Another  battle  was  fought  one  week  later  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Big  Horn  River.  The  Indians  had 
been  followed  in  their  fight  down  the  Yellowstone 
and,  on  receiving  additions  to  their  number  until 


130  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

their  force  amounted  to  between  800  and  i.ooo 
men,  halted  on  the  banks  of  the  river  as  though 
ready  for  an  attack,  Sitting  Bull  was  in  command 
and  upon  the  mounds  and  high  bluffs,  along  the 
river  were  gathered  large  numbers  of  squaws,  old 
men,  and  children,  who  had  assembled  to  witness 
what  they  evidently  believed  would  result  in  the  de 
struction  of  General  Custer's  force  of  450  men. 
After  some  skirmishing,  General  Custer  gave  the 
order  for  an  attack,  and  the  assurance  soon  gained 
by  the  savages  that  the  charge  was  made  in  earnest 

FLIGHT  OF  THE  SAVAGES. 

led  them  to  a  speedy  and  complete  flight.  The  loss 
of  the  Indians  in  these  engagements  was  upward  of 
40  warriors, 'together  with  a  large  number  of  ponies, 
while  the  loss  of  General  Custer  was  only  four  men 
killed,  -one  wounded,  and  one  officer  seriously 
wounded.  Four  horses  were  killed  and  four 
wounded,  one  of  the  killed  being  General  Custer's, 
which  was  shot  from  under  him. 

General  Custer  was  brave,  even  to  recklessness, 
as  the  manner  of  his  death  showed.  He  was  a  bold, 
dashing  officer,  who  did  not  know  what  fear,  and 
not  always  what  discretion,  was.  His  success  was  a 
rule  without  exceptions,  and  his  progress  an  advance 
almost  without  pauses.  He  was  the  youngest  Brig 
adier  and  the  youngest  Major-General  in  the  army, 
"  He  never  lost  a  gun  or  a  color,"  and  "  captured 
more  guns,  flags,  and  prisoners  than  any  other  gen 
eral  not  an  army  commander,"  and  these  guns  and 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  13  T 

flags  "  were  all  taken  in  action  and  field  service." 
His  personal  appearance  was  singular.  Col.  New- 
hall,  who  wrote  "  With  Sheridan  in  Lee's  Last  Cam- 

NEVER  LOST  A  GUN  OR  A  COLOR. 

paign,"  describes  him  thus:  "  Custer  of  the  golden 
locks,  his  broad  sombrero  turned  up  from  his  hard- 
bronzed  face,  the  ends  of  his  crimson  cravat  floating 
over  his  shoulders,  gold  galore  spangling  his  jacket 
sleeves,  a  pistol  in  his  boot,  jangling  spurs  on  his 
heels,  and  a  ponderous  claymore  swinging  at  his 
side,  a  wild  dare-devil  of  a  general,  and  a  prince  of 
advance  guards,  quick  to  see  and  act."  While  he 
fought  brilliantly  and  bravely,  he  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  a  soldier  capable  of  real  generalship.  As 
a  subordinate  working  under  sympathetic  direction 
he  did  his  best.  He  died  as  he  lived — fighting  his 
hardest  and  at  the  head  of  his  men. 

One  of  his  comrades,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  paid 
this  tribute  to  his  memory  :  I  accompanied  General 
Custer  on  the  Yellowstone  and  Black  Hills  expedi 
tion.  He  was  a  born  cavalryman.  He  was  never 
more  in  his  element  than  when  mounted  on  Dandy, 
his  favorite  horse,  and  riding  at  the  head  of  his  reg 
iment.  He  once  said  to  me.  "  I  would  rather  be  a 
private  in  the  cavalry  than  a  line  officer  in  the  infan 
try."  He  was  the  personification  of  bravery-  and 
dash.  His  most  bitter  enemies  never  accused  him 
of  cowardice.  If  he  had  only  added  discretion  to  his 
valor  he  would  have  been  a  perfect  soldier.  His 
impetuosity  very  often  ran  away  with  his  judgment. 


132  /- rFE  Of-  S/ TT/A  G  BULL 

He  was  impatient  of  control.  He  liked  to  act  inde 
pendently  of  o tliers  and  take  ?!1  the  risk  and  all  the 
glory  to  himself.  He  freque  ttly  got  himself  into 
trouble  by  assuming  more  aut  ority  than  really  be 
longed  to  his  rank.  It  was  so  on  the  Yellowstone 
expedition,  where  he  came  into  collision  with  Gene 
ral  Stanley,  his  superior  officer,  and  was  placed  under 
arrest  and  compelled  to  ride  at  the  rear  of  his  col 
umn  for  two  or  three  days,  until  General  Rosser, 
who  fought  against  Custer  in  the  Shenandoah  Val 
ley  during  the  war,  but  was  then  acting  as  engineer 
of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  succeeded  in  effect 
ing  a  reconciliation,  Custer  and  Stanley  aft<  rward 
got  on  very  well,  and  perhaps  the  quarrel  #ould 
never  have  occurred  if  the  two  generals  had  been 
left  alone  to  themselves  without  the  intervention  of 
camp  gossips,  who  sought  to  foster  the  traditional 
jealousy  between  infantry  and  cavalry.  For  Stanley 
was  the  soul  of  generosity,  and  Custer  did  not  really 
mean  to  be  arrogant ;  but  from  the  time  when  he 
entered  West  Point  to  the  day  when  he  fell  on  the 
Big  Horn,  he  was  accustomed  to  take  just  as  much 
liberty  as  he  was  entitled  to. 

For  this  reason,  Custer  worked  most  easily  and  ef 
fectively  when  under  general  orders,  when  not  ham 
pered  by  special  restrictions,  or  his  success  made  de 
pendent  on  anybody  else.  General  Terry  under- 

UNBOUNDED  CONFIDENCE. 

stood  his  man  when,  in  the  order  directing  him  to 
march  up  the  Rosebud,  he  very  liberally  said  :  "The 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR. 

Department  Commander  places  too  much  confi 
dence  in  your  zeal,  energy,  and  ability  to  wish  to  im 
pose  upon  you  precise  orders  which  might  hamper 
your  action  when  nearly  in  contact  with  the  enemy." 
But  General  Terry  did  not  understand  Custer  if  he 
thought  he  would  wait  for  Gibbon's  support  before 
attacking  an  Indian  camp.  Undoubtedly  he  ought 
to  have  done  this  ;  but  with  his  native  impetuosity, 
his  reckless  daring,  his  confidence  in  his  own  regi 
ment,  which  had  never  failed  him,  and  his  love  of 
public  approval,  Custer  could  no  more  help  charg 
ing  this  Indian  camp  than  he  could  help  charging 
just  so  many  buffaloes.  He  had  never  learned  to 
spell  the  word  "  defeat ;"  he  knew  nothing  but  suc 
cess,  and  if  he  had  met  the  Indians  on  the  open 
plain,  success  would  undoubtedly  have  been  his  ; 
for  no  body  of  Indians  could  stand  the  charge  of  the 
7th  Cavalry  when  it  swept  over  the  plains  like  a 
whirlwind.  But  in  the  Mauvaises  Terres  and  the 
Narrow  Valley  of  the  Big  Horn  he  did  it  at  a  fear 
ful  risk. 

With  all  his  bravery  and  self-reliance,  his  love  of 
independent  action,  Custer  was  more  dependent 
than  most  men  on  the  kind  approval  of  his  fellows. 

LOVED  DISPLAY. 

He  was  even  vain  ;  he  loved  display  in  dress  and  in 
action.  He  would  pay  $40  for  a  pair  of  troop  boots 
to  wear  on  parade,  and  have  everything  else  in 
keeping.  On  the  Yellowstone  expedition  he  wore 
a  bright  red  shirt,  which  made  him  the  best  mark 


LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

for  a  rifle  of  any  man  in  the  regiment.  I  remon 
strated  with  him  for  this  reckless  exposure,  but 
found  an  appeal  to  his  wife  more  effectual,  and  on 
the  next  campaign  he  wore  a  buckskin  suit.  He 
formerly  wore  his  hair  very  long,  letting  it  fall  in  a 
heavy  mass  upon  his  shoulders,  but  cut  it  oft  before 
going  out  on  the  Black  Hills,  producing  quite  a 
change  in  his  appearance.  But  if  vain  and  ambi 
tious,  Custer  had  none  of  those  great  vices  which 
are  so  common  and  so  distressing  in  the  army.  He 
never  touched  liquor  in  any  form  ;  he  did  not  smoke 
or  chew  or  gamble.  In  early  life  he  had  been 
addicted  to  some  of  these  habits,  but  was  entirely 
won  from  them  by  the  loving,  purifying  influence  of 
his  devoted  wife.  He  was  a  man  of  great  energy 
and  remarkable  endurance.  He  could  outride 
almost  any  man  in  his  regiment,  I  believe,  if  it  were 
put  to  a  test.  His  men  had  many  nicknames  for 
him,  which  celebrated  this  hardihood.  When  he  sat 
out  to  reach  a  certain  point  at  a  certain  time,  you 
could  be  sure  that  he  would  be  there  if  he  killed 
every  horse  in  the  command.  He  was  sometimes 
too  severe  in  forcing  marches,  but  he  never  seemed 
to  get  tired  himself,  and  he  never  expected  his  men 
to  be  so.  In  cutting  our  way  through  the  forests  of 
the  Black  Hills,  I  have  often  seen  him  take  an  axe 
and  work  as  hard  as  any  of  the  pioneers.  He  was 

NEVER  IDLE. 

never  idle  when  he  had  a  pretext  for  doing  any 
thing.  Whatever  he  did  he  did  thoroughly.  He 


AND  THE  INDIAN   WAR. 

would  overshoot  the  mark,  but  never  fall  short.  He 
fretted  in  garrison  sometimes,  because  it  was  too  in 
active  ;  but  he  found  an  outlet  here  for  his  energies 
in  writing  articles  for  the  press.  He  made  some 
enemies  in  the  army  by  the  freedom  with  which  he 
wrote  and  criticised.  1  think  it  was  not  Ouster's 
habit  to  add  to  his  fame  by  disparaging  the  reputa 
tion  of  others.  As  be  loved  praise  himself,  so  he 
liked  to  award  it  to  others  whenever  it  was  due. 

He  had  a  remarkable  memory.  He  could  recall 
in  its  proper  order  every  detail  of  any  action,  no 
matter  how  remote,  of  which  he  was  a  participant. 
He  was  rather  verbose  in  writing,  and  had  no  gifts 
as  a  speaker ;  but  his  writings  interested  the  masses 
from  their  close  attention  to  details,  and  from  his 
facility  with  the  pen  as  with  the  sword  in  bringing  a 
thing  to  a  climax.  As  he  was  apt  to  overdo  in  ac 
tion,  so  he  was  apt  to  exaggerate  in  statement,  not 
from  any  willful  disregard  of  the  truth,  but  because 
he  saw  things  bigger  than  they  really  were.  He  did 
not  distort  the  truth ;  he  magnified  it.  He  was  a 

ROSE-COLORED  VIEWS. 

natural  optimist.  He  took  rose-colored  views  of 
everything,  even  of  the  miserable  lands  of  the  North 
ern  Pacific  Railroad.  He  had  a  historical  memory, 
but  not  a  historical  mind.  He  was  no  philosopher; 
he  could  reel  off  facts  from  his  mind  better  than  he 
could  analyze  or  mass  them.  He  was  not  a  student 
nor  a  deep  thinker.  He  loved  to  take  part  in  events 
rather  than  to  brood  over  them.  He  was  fond  of 


136  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

fun,  genial  and  pleasant  in  his  manner;  a  loving  and 
devoted  husband.  It  was  my  privilege  to  spend  two 
weeks  in  his  family  at  one  time,  and  I  know  how 
happy  he  was  in  his  social  relations.  His  loss  will 
be  felt  by  those  who  had  learned  to  know  him 
through  the  productions  of  his  pen ;  by  the  remnant 
of  the  famous  Seventh  he  had  so  often  led  to  victory; 
but  by  none  more  than  by  those  who  had  won  a 
place  in  his  affections. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

IN  EXILE. 

UNFOUNDED  RUMORS  OF  SITTING  BULL'S  DEATH — His  RETREAT  INTO 
CANADA — VISITED  THERE  BY  A  GOVERNMENT  COMMISSION — His  DEFI 
ANT  REFUSAL  TO  RETURN  HOME — SPEECHES  BY  THE  CHIEFS — SIT 
TING  BULL'S  OWN  WORDS. 

It  was  at  first  reported  and  widely  believed  that 
Sitting  Bull  himself  had  been  killed  in  that  last  des 
perate  fight  with  Custer.  While  Gen.  Terry  was 
going  over  the  battle-field,  an  old  sergeant,  for  many 
years  in  the  service  on  the  frontier,  rode  up  to  the 
General  and  said  that,  although  he  had  never  seen 
Sitting  Bull,  from  the  description  he  had  heard  given 
of  him  he  believed  that  he  had  found  his  body,  and 
took  from  his  saddle  a  sort  of  wrapper,  made  of 
three  large  elk  skins  sewed  together,  beautifully 
tanned  and  elegantly  ornamented,  in  which  he  had 
found  a  body  wrapped  lying  in  a  ravine  near  the 
village.  A  large  number  of  ponies  had  been  led  up 
to  the  body  and  their  throats  cut,  a  custom  observed 
by  the  Sioux  when  chiefs  die.  Gen.  Terry  sent  a 
number  of  men  with  the  sergeant  to  look  at  the 
body,  and  among  them  Fred  Girard,  the  interpreter 

137 


I  38  Z/fiE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

at  Fort  Lincoln,  who  said  that  he  had,  on  one  occa- 

DISAPPOINTMENT. 

sion,  seen  Sitting  Bull.  Girard  said  that  it  was  not 
the  body  of  the  chief,  as  one  of  his  legs  was  shorter 
than  the  other,  and  consequently  he  stepped  on  the 
ball  of  the  other  foot,  and  the  body  found  did  not 
indicate  any  such  deformity.  However,  there  were 
others  who  insisted  that  the  body  was  that  of  Sitting 
Bull.  These  parties  gave  as  their  reason  for  sup 
posing  it  to  be  his  body,  that  Sitting  Bull  had  lost 
two  fingers  on  his  left  hand,  which  had  been  the  case 
with  the  chief  whose  body  lay  before  them,  so  that 
at  the  time  that  Col.  E.  W.  Smith,  Gen.  Terry's 
Adjutant,  left  for  Bismarck,  it  was  still  a  question 
whether  Sitting  Bull  had  been  killed  or  not. 

Upon  Col.  Smith's  arrival  at  Bismarck,  he 
learned  that  there  was  a  gentleman  there  who  had 
lived  on  the  Upper  Missouri  for  the  past  fifteen 
years,  and  who  had  seen  Sitting  Bill  frequently. 
Col.  Smith  at  once  sent  for  this  gentleman,  a 
Mr.  Courtney,  and  asked  him  what  he  knew  about 
the  Indian  chief. 

"  I  have  seen  him,'7  replied  Mr.  Courtney,  "five 
or  six  times,  and  have  talked  with  him  through  an 
interpreter  repeatedly.  The  last  time  I  saw  him 
was  in  1870,  at  Fort  Peck.  We  were  aroused  early 
one  morning  by  firing  outside  the  stockade,  Sitting 
Bull  having  attacked  the  agency.  The  agent  by 
evening  succeeded  in  communicating  with  that  per 
sonage,  and  ascertained  that  he  wanted  ammunition. 


AND    THE  INDIAN    WAR.  139 

The  agent  asked  him  to  come  inside  the  stockade. 
This  he  refused  to  do  until  the  next  day,  when  he, 
with  a  few  of  his  men,  visited  the  agency.  The  agent 
told  him  that  the  Great  Father  loved  him,  and  that 
he  did  not  want  to  fight  with  his  children  ;  that  if  he 
would  make  peace  with  the  whites  they  would  treat 

SITTING  BULL'S  REPLY. 

him  kindly.  Pointing  his  finger  at  the  agent,  Sitting 
Bull  said :  '  You  are  the  chief  of  liars,  and  you  know 
there  does  not  live  a  white  man  but  hates  the 
Indian,  nor  an  Indian  who  does  not  hate  the  white 
man,  and  it  will  always  be  so  as  long  as  the  grass 
grows  and  the  water  runs.  I  did  not  come  here  to 
make  peace,  but  for  ammunition,  and  I  am  going  to 
have  it.  I  and  my  men  will  fight  the  white  men 
wherever  and  whenever  we  can  find  them.'  The 
agent  gave  Sitting  Bull  what  ammunition  he  wanted 
and  a  new  rifle,  with  other  articles,  which  he  took  to 
his  men." 

Mr.  Courtney  further  described  Sitting  Bull's  per 
sonal  appearance  with  much  minuteness,  so  that 
Col.  Smith  was  fully  convinced  that^  it  was  that 
chieftain's  corpse  that  had  been  found  on  the  Little 
Big  Horn  battle-field.  Such,  however,  was  not  the 
case.  It  soon  became  known  that  Sitting  Bull  and 

WENT  NORTH. 

many  of  his  comrades  and  followers  had  made  their 
way  northward  across  the  border  in  the  British 
Northwest  Territory,  and  were  at  Fort  Walsh, 
Thither,  accordingly,  in  the  fall  of  1876,  a  commis 


L1FE   °*  SITTING  BULL 

sion  was  sent  to  negotiate  for  the  return  of  the  In 
dians  to  Dakota.  The  commissioners  arrived  at  the 
Canadian  border  on  October  I5th,  and  were  there 
met  and  cordially  received  by  the  Dominion  mounted 
police.  The  next  day  they  arrived  at  Fort  Walsh, 
where  Major  Walsh  had  succeeded  in  inducing  Sit 
ting  Bull  to  wait  for  them.  The  journey  of  the 
commission  was  accomplished  through  numerous 
delays  and  no  small  amount  of  actual  suffering. 
The  result  of  the  mission  undertaken  is  thus  briefly 
summed  up  in  the  opening  paragraph  of  the  de 
spatch  sent  by  a  correspondent  who  accompanied  the 
commissioners : 

RESULTS  OF  THE  MISSION. 

"The  United  States  Commission  sent  out  by  the 
Government  to  find  and  treat  for  peace  and  good 
will  with  the  Sioux  chief  Sitting  Bull,  has  at  length 
succeeded  in  coming  face  to  face  with  the  redoubt 
able  Indian  chieftain  and  have  failed  to  bring  him  to 
any  terms.  In  short,  the  commission  has  met  Sit 
ting  Bull  and  Sitting  Bull  has  dismissed  it  abruptly 
and  disdainfully.  The  expedition  has  failed  in  its 
purpose  and  the  Sioux  question  is  as  far  from  a 
satisfactory  solution  as  when  Gen.  Terry  and  his 
brother  commissioners  first  set  out  on  their  long 
and  tedious  journey  to  the  Northwest.  It  is  sad  to 
be  compelled  to  thus  preface  my  despatch,  but  truth 
compels  the  admission." 

The  correspondent,  after  describing  the  march  of 


AND    THE   INDIAN    WAR.  1^1 

the  commission,  the  arrival  at  Fort  Walsh,  and  the 
reception,  says : — 

TALK  WITH  THE  INDIANS. 

"  When,  on  the  next  afternoon,  the  arrangements 
for  the  talk  between  the  commission  and  the  Indians 
were  completed,  it  was  found  that  they  were  as  sim 
ple  as  the  most  carping  critic  could  desire.  The 
largest  room  at  the  post  was  selected,  and  tables 
were  placed  for  the  members  of  the  commission  and 
the  two  press  correspondents  who  accompanied  it. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  room  buffalo  robes  were 
laid  for  the  accommodation  of  the  Indians,  The 
apartment  was  just  large  enough  for  the  commis 
sion,  its  guests,  and  the  chiefs.  At  9  o'clock  Sitting 
Bull  entered,  followed  by  Spotted  Eagle  and  the 
rest  of  his  train.  Now  for  the  first  time  was  visible 
to  white  men  since  the  beginning  of  the  late  Indian 
wars  the  most  noted  Indian  of  the  period,  and  now 
was  made  real  Cooper's  often-derided  vision  of  an 

SITTING  BULL'S  APPEARANCE. 

Indian's  face.  Neither  ignorance  nor  cruelty  nor 
savagery  as  barbarous  as  any  displayed  in  savage 
history  has  detracted  in  the  least  from  the  expres 
sion  of  manhood  and  womanliness  combined  in  Sit 
ting  Bull's  physiognomy.  Less  rude  than  Satanta's, 
less  sharp  than  Spotted  Tail's,  more  intelligent  than 
Red  Cloud's,  his  features,  like  Goethe's,  made  music 
to  the  senses.  He  wore  a  quiet,  ironical  smile.  His 
black  hair  streamed  down  along  his  beardless  and 
swarthy  cheeks,  over  clean-cut  ears,  not  burdened 


LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

with  ornaments.  His  red  mourning  handkerchief 
was  replaced  by  a  wolf-skin  cap.  His  shirt  was  a 
black  calico,  specked  with  white  dots.  His  blankets 
wrapped  negligently  around  him  revealed  below  its 
edge  a  pair  of  rich  beaded  moccasins,  the  only  fin 
ery  he  wore.  '  Silent,  stately,  and  impassive,  this 
model  aboriginal  leader,  this  scoundrelly  '  medicine 
man,'  this  rascally  foe  and  treacherous  friend,  this 
model,  in  sooth,  of  Machiavelli's  own  sort,  squatted 
himself  on  a  buffalo  robe  next  the  wall  and  took  out 
his  pipe  and  smoked  it,  and  expressed,  with  his  in 
solent  manner,  the  following  sentiment :  '  This  com 
mission  which  has  come  to  interview  me  can  go  to 
the  devil.' 

SPOTTED  EAGLE. 

"  The  war  chief,  Spotted  Eagle,  who  sat  next  to 
the  old  chief,  Sitting  Bull,  was  a  far  more  engaging 
and  brilliant  figure  to  the  eye:  He  was  naked  to 
the  waist,  a  belt  full  of  Winchester  rifle  cartridges 
was  slung  over  his  bronze  shoulders,  his  muscular 
breast  and  arms  were  daubed  with  white  paint,  his 
hair  was  knotted  in  front — the  knot  thrust  through 
with  an  eagle's  feather — he  wore  a  charm  around 
his  neck  adorned  with  pendant  plumes,  he  carried 
a  lance  with  three  projecting  knife-blades  attached 
to  the  staff  near  the  top,  forming  a  lance  and  toma 
hawk  in  one.  His  waist  and  legs  were  swathed  in 
a  superb  buffalo  robe  of  almost  silken  texture.  He 
fondled  his  knife.  His  every  movement  was  grace 
ful,  defiant  lofty. 


AXD    THE   INDIAN   WAR.  143 

"  The  commissioners,  who  had  taken  their  seats 
behind  the  table  which  intervened  between  them 
and  the  Indians,  presented  a  very  dignified  appear- 

GEN.  TERRY'S  APPEARANCE. 

ance.  Gen.  Terry  is  one  of  the  noblest  looking 
officers  in  the  service,  as  he  is  one  of  the  bravest 
and  most  scholarly.  There  is  nothing  peculiar,  but 
everything  right  and  manly  in  his  aspect.  If  any 
man  in  United  States  uniform  could  have  impressed, 
persuaded,  or  cajoled  his  visitors  on  that  occasion, 
Gen.  Terry  must  have  done  so.  Gen.  Lawrence, 
the  civic  commissioner,  would  certainly  have  seized 
upon  any  point  of  vantage  during  the  dialogue 
which,  at  last,  was  held,  if  it  had  been  expedient 
to  indulge  in  dialogue  at  all. 

"  Both  commissioners  entered  without  ado  upon 
the  performance  of  a  task  in  which  they  were  given 
no  discretion  whatever.  They  were  simply  to  state 
the  case  of  the  United  States  Government,  await 
Sitting  Bull's  reply,  decide  whether  to  expostulate 
with  him  or  not,  and  retire.  An  excellent  stenog 
rapher,  Mr.  Jay  Stone,  was  present.  The  interpre 
ters,  one  employed  by  the  commissioners  and  two 
by  Sitting  Bull,  sat  near.  The  utmost  pains  had 
been  taken  by  the  commissioners  to  secure  accuracy 
by  coaching  the  interpreters  before  the  conference. 
The  address  was,  therefore,  literally  transcribed  to 
Sitting  Bull.  It  was  read,  sentence  by  sentence,  by 
General  Terry,  and  translated  in  due  order  by  Bap- 
tiste,  his  interpreter.'1 
9 


144  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

Gen.  Terry  told  the  savage  chief  that  his  was 
the  only  Indian  band  which  had  not  surrendered  to 
the  United  States.  He  proposed  that  the  band 
should  return  and  settle  at  the  agency,  giving  up 
their  horses  and  arms,  which  would  be  sold  and  the 
money  invested  in  cattle  for  them. 

Sitting  Bull  replied : 

"  For  sixty-four  years  you  have  kept  me  and  my 
people  and  treated  us  bad.     What  have  we  done 
that  you  should  want  us  to  stop  ?     We  have  done 
nothing.     It  is  all  the  people  on  your  side  that  have 
started  us  to  do  all  these  depredations.     We  could 
not  go  anywhere  else,  and  so  we  took  refuge  in  this 
country.      It  was  on  this  side  of  the  country  we 
learned  to  shoot,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  I  came 
back  to  it  again.     I  would  like  to  know  why  you 
came  here.     In  the  first  place,  I  did  not  give  you 
the  country,  but  you  followed  me  from  one  place  to 
another,  so  I  had  to  leave  and  come  over  to  this 
country.     I  was  born   and   raised  in   this  country 
with  the  Red  River  half-breeds,  and  I  intend  to  stop 
with  them.     I  was  raised  hand  in  hand  with  the  Red 
River  half-breeds,  and  we  are  going  over  to  that 
part  of  the  country,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  I 
have  come  over  here.      [Shaking  hands  with  the 
British  officers.]     That  is  the  way  I  was  raised,  in 
the  hands  of  these  people  here,  and  that  is  the  way 
I  intend  to  be  with  them.     You  have  got  ears,  and 
you  have  got  eyes  to  see  with  them,  and  you  see 
how  I  live  with  these  people.     You  see  me  ?     Here 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  147 

I  am !  If  you  think  I  am  a  fool,  you  are  a  bigger 
fool  than  I  am.  This  house  is  a  medicine  house. 
You  come  here  to  tell  us  lies,  but  we  don't  want  to 
hear  them.  I  don't  wish  any  such  language  used  to 
me ;  that  is,  to  tell  me  such  lies,  in  my  Great 
Mother's  house.  Don't  you  say  two  more  words. 
Go  back  home,  where  you  came  from.  This  country 

THIS  IS  MY  COUNTRY. 

is  mine,  and  I  intend  to  stay  here,  and  to  raise  this 
country  full  of  grown  people.  See  these  people 
here  ?  We  were  raised  with  them.  [Again  shak 
ing  hands  with  the  British  officers.]  That  is 
enough ;  so  no  more.  You  see  me  shaking  hands 
with  these  people.  The  part  of  the  country  you 
gave  me  you  ran  me  out  of.  I  have  now  come  here 
to  stay  with  these  people,  and  I  intend  to  stay  here. 
I  wish  to  go  back,  and  to  *  take  it  easy '  going  back. 
[Taking  a  Santee  Indian  by  the  hand.]  These 
Santees — I  was  born  and  raised  with  them.  He  is 
going  to  tell  you  something  about  them." 

"The-one-that-runs-the-Ree,"  a  Santee  Indian, 
said:  "Look  at  me.  I  was  born  and  raised  in  this 
country.  These  people,  away  north  here,  I  was 
raised  with — my  hands  in  their  own.  I  have  lived 
in  peace  with  them.  For  the  last  sixty-four  years 
we  were  over  in  your  country,  and  you  treated  us 
badly.  We  have  come  over  here  now,  and  you 
want  to  try  and  get  us  back  there  again.  You 

YOU  TREAT  US  BADLY. 

didn't  treat  us  well,  and  I   don't  like  you   at  all. 


148  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL  ^  I 

[Shaking  hands  with  the  English  officers.]  I  have 
been  up  and  down  there  as  often  as  these  people 
have.  I  will  be  at  peace  with  these  people  as  long 
as  I  live.  You  come  over  here  to  tell  us  lies.  I 
will  shake  hands  with  men  here,  and  I  have  been  in 
peace  with  them.  I  have  come  thus  far  into  this 
country.  These  are  the  people  that  learned  me 
how  to  shoot  the  first  time.  This  country  is  ours. 
We  did  not  give  it  to  you.  You  stole  it  away  from 
us.  You  have  come  over  here  to  our  country  to 
tell  us  lies,  and  I  don't  propose  to  talk  much,  and 
that  is  all  I  have  to  say.  I  want  you  to  take  it  easy 
going  back  home.  Don't  go  in  a  rush." 

**  Nine,"  a  Yankton  Indian,  who  joined  the  Santee 
band  that  left  Minnesota  many  years  ago  during  the 
massacre,  said,  after  shaking  hands  all  round: 

"  I  have  shaken  hands  with  everybody  in  the 
house.  I  don't  wear  the  same  clothes  that  these 

YOU  TELL  US  LIES. 

people  do.  You  corne  over  here  to  tell  lies  on  one 
another.  I  want  to  tell  you  a  few,  but  you  have  got 
more  lies  than  I  can  say.  Sixty- four  years  ago  you 
got  our  country,  and  you  promised  to  take  good 
care  of  us  and  keep  us.  You  ran  from  one  place 
to  another,  killing  us  and  fighting  us,  and  I  was  born 
and  raised  with  these  people  over  here.  I  have 
come  here  to  see  the  council  and  shake  hands  with 
you  all.  I  wanted  to  tell  you  what  I  think  of  this. 
There  are  seven  different  tribes  of  us.  They  live 
all  over  the  country.  You  did  not  treat  us  right 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  149 

over  there,  and  part  of  us  you  kept  on  this  side. 
You  did  not  treat  us  right  over  tnere,  so  we  came 
back  over  here.  These  people  sitting  around  here, 
you  promised  to  take  good  care  of  them  when  you 
had  them  over  there,  but  you  did  not  fulfill  your 
promises.  They  have  come  over  here  to  this  side 
again,  and  here  we  are  together.  I  come  in  to  these 
people  here,  and  they  give  me  permission  to  trade 
with  the  traders  ;  that  is  the  way  I  make  my  living. 
Everything  I  get  I  buy  from  the  traders.  I  don't 
steal  anything.  For  fourteen  years  I  have  not 
fought  with  your  people,  and  that  is  what  I  have  lost 
by  waiting  in  this  country.  I  have  come  over  here 
to  these  people,  and  these  people,  if  they  had  a  piece 
of  tobacco,  they  gave  me  half ;  and  that  is  why  I 

I  HAVE  POWDER. 

live  over  here.  I  have  a  little  powder  in  my  pow 
der-horn,  and  I  gave  you  a  little  fourteen  years  ago. 
Since  then  I  have  been  over  in  this  country.  [Shak 
ing  hands  all  around  and  continuing.]  We  came 
over  to  this  country,  and  I  am  going  to  live  with 
these  people  here.  This  country  over  here  is  mine. 
The  bullets  I  have  over  here  I  intend  to  kill  some 
thing  to  eat  with ;  not  to  kill  anybody  with  them. 
That  is  what  these  people  told  me — to  kill  nothing 
but  what  I  wanted  to  eat  with  the  ammunition  they 
gave  me.  I  will  do  so." 

A  squaw  named  "The-one-that-speaks-once,"  wife 
of  *'  That-man-that-scatters-the-bear,"  said  : 

"  I  was  over  in  your  country ;  I  wanted  to  raise  my 


I^O  LIFE    OF  SITTING   BILL 

children  over  there,  but  you  did  not  give  me  any  time. 
I  came  over  to  this  country  to  raise  my  children  and 
have  a  little  peace.  [Shaking  hands  with  the  Eng 
lish  officers.]  That  is  all  I  have  to  say  to  you.  I 
want  you  to  go  back  where  you  came  from.  These 
are  the  people  I  am  going  to  stay  with,  and  raise  my 
children  with.'* 

The  Flying  Bird  then  made  a  speecn  and  said  : 
"  These  people  here,  God  Almighty  raised  us  to- 

WE  LOVE  ONE  ANOTHER. 

gether.  We  have  a  little  sense  and  we  ought  to 
love  one  another.  Sitting  Bull  here  says  that  when 
ever  you  found  us  out,  wherever  his  country  was, 
why,  you  wanted  to  have  it.  It  is  Sitting  Bull's 
country,  this  is.  These  people  sitting  all  around 
me :  what  they  committed  I  had  nothing  to  do  with. 
I  was  not  in  it.  The  soldiers  find  out  where  we  live, 
and  they  never  think  of  anything  good  ;  it  is  always 
something  bad."  [Again  shaking  hands  with  the 
British  officers.] 

The  Indians  having  risen,  being  apparently  about 
to  leave  the  room,  the  interpreter  was  then  directed 
to  ask  the  following  questions: 

"  Shall  I  say  to  the  President  that  you  refuse  the 
offers  that  he  has  made  to  you  ?  Are  we  to  under 
stand  from  what  you  have  said  that  you  refuse  those 
offers  ?" 

Sitting  Bull. — "I  could  tell  you  more,  but  that  is 
all  I  have  to  tell  you.  If  we  told  you  more — why 
you  would  not  pay  any  attention  to  it.  That  is  all  I 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR.  1 51 

have  to  say.  This  part  of  the  country  does  not  be 
long  to  your  people.  You  belong  to  the  other  side; 
this  side  belongs  to  us." 

The  Crow  [shaking  hands  and  embracing  Colonel 
McLeod,  and  shaking  hands  with  the  other  British 
officers]. — "  This  is  the  way  I  will  live  in  this  part  of 
the  county.  That  is  the  way  I  like  them.  [Making 
a  gesture  of  embrace.]  When  we  came  back  from 
the  other  side  you  wanted  to  do  something — to  lie. 
You  want  us  to  go  back  to  the  other  side ;  that  is 
the  reason  why  you  stay  here.  What  do  you  mean 
by  coming  over  here  and  talking  that  way  to  us  ? 
All  this  country  around  here,  I  know,  belongs  to 
these  people,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  I  came 
over  here  when  I  was  driven  out  of  the  other  coun- 

AFRAID  OF  GOD  ALMIGHTY. 

try.  I  am  afraid  of  God  Almighty,  that  is  the  reason 
why  I  don't  want  to  do  anything  bad.  When  I  came 
over  here,  I  came  to  live  with  these  people.  My 
children,  myself,  and  my  women,  they  all  live  to 
gether.  These  people  that  don't  hide  anything,  they 
are  all  the  people  I  like.  I  suppose  you  wanted  to 
hear  something;  that  is  the  reason  you  came  over 
here.  The  people  standing  around  here  want  to 
hear  it  also.  That  is  the  reason  they  stand  around 
here.  Sixty-four  years  ago  we  shook  hands 
with  the  soldiers,  and  ever  since  that  I  have 
had  hardships.  I  made  peace  with  them,  and 
ever  since  that  I  have  had  hardships.  I  made 
peace  with  them,  and  ever  since  that  I  have 


OF  SITTING  BULL 

been  running  from  one  place  to  another  to  keep 
out  of  their  way.  I  was  over  across  the  line  and 
stayed  over  there,  and  I  thought  you  people 
would  take  good  care  of  me.  You  did  not  do  so, 
and  these  people  over  here  gave  me  good  care.  I 
have  waited  here  three  days,  and  I  have  got  plenty 
to  eat,  and  everybody  respects  mec  I  came  from 
the  other  side  of  the  line,  and  I  expect  to  stay  here. 

GO  WHERE  YOU  WERE  BORN. 

Going  back,  you  can  take  it  easy.     Go  to  where  you 
were  born,  and  stay  there.     I  came  over   to  this 
country,  and  my  Great  Mother  knows  all  about  it. 
She  knows  I  came  back  over  here,  and  she  don't 
wish  anything  of  me.     We  think,  and  all  the  women 
in  camp  think,  we  are  going  to  have  the  country  full 
of  people.     When  I  shook  hands  before,  there  were 
lots  of  people  here  then.     Now  I  have  come  back 
in  this  part  of  the  country  again  to  have  plenty 
more  people  ;  to  live  in  peace  and  raise  children." 
The  Indians  then  inquired  whether  the  commission 
had  anything  more  to  say;  and  which  the  commission 
answered  that  they  had  nothing  more,  and  the  con 
ference  here  closed.    This  commission  had  to  return 
without  accomplishing  anything,  and  so  did  others 
that  were  sent.     In   May,   1877,  the  Rev.   Abbott 
Martin  went  to  see  the  exile  chief.     Mr.  Martin  was 
accompanied  by  six  Sioux  Indians  and   an    inter 
preter,  and  was  joined,  while  there,  by  Major  Walsh 
and  other  Canadian  officers  from  Fort  Walsh,  some 
sixty  miles  away.     Sitting  Bull  was  courteous,  very 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR. 

hospitable  and  attentive.  He  told  the  same  old 
story  of  his  wrongs  in  an  eloquent  and  fiery  speech. 

WOULD  NOT  RETURN. 

The  conclusion  reached  was  that  Sitting  Bull  would 
not  return  to  the  United  States,  but  would  remain 
in  the  British  possessions.  He  could  not  bear  the 
idea  of  surrendering  his  possessions,  ponies,  arms, 
etc.,  besides  fear  for  his  personal  safety.  He  ap 
peared  thoroughly  subdued.  The  Indians  had  lost 
all  their  lodges,  many  arms  and  supplies,  while  cross 
ing  the  river  that  spring,  and  were  in  a  bad  condi 
tion  to  continue  the  war.  There  were  three  hun 
dred  and  twenty  lodges,  or  about  one  thousand 
warriors.  The  British  officers  sympathized  with 
them  and  assured  them  of  protection  during  good 
behavior. 

Sitting  Bull  said  "  he  was  not  raised  to  be  an  en 
emy  of  the  whites.  The  pale-faces  had  things  that 
we  needed  in  order  to  hunt.  We  needed  ammuni- 

NEVER  SOLD  THE  LAND. 

tion.  Our  interests  were  in  peace.  I  never  sold 
that  much  land.  [Here  Sitting  Bull  picked  up  with 
his  thumb  and  forefinger  a  little  of  the  pulverized 
dirt  in  the  tent,  and  holding  it  up  let  it  fall  and  blow 
away.]  I  never  made  or  sold  a  treaty  with  the 
United  States,  I  came  in  to  claim  my  rights  and 
the  rights  of  my  people.  I  was  driven  in  force  from 
my  land  and  I  now  come  back  to  claim  it  for  my 
people.  I  never  made  war  on  the  United  States 
Government.  I  never  stood  in  the  white  man's 


154  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

country.  I  never  committed  any  depredations  in 
the  white  man's  country.  I  never  made  the  white 
man's  heart  bleed.  The  white  man  came  on  to  my 
land  and  followed  me.  The  white  men  made  me 
fight  for  my  hunting  grounds.  The  white  man  made 
me  kill  him  or  he  would  kill  my  friends,  my  women, 
and  my  children." 

THE  CUSTER  FIGHT. 

Speaking  of  the  Custer  fight,  Sitting  Bull  said : 
"  There  was  a  Great  Spirit  who  guided  and  con 
trolled  that  battle.  I  could  do  nothing.  I  was  sus 
tained  by  the  Great  Mysterious  One  (pointing 
upwards  with  his  forefinger).  I  am  not  afraid  to 
talk  about  that.  It  all  happened — it  is  passed  and 
gone.  I  do  not  lie,  but  do  not  want  to  talk  about 
it.  Low  -Dog  says  I  can't  fight  until  some  one 
lends  me  a  heart.  Gall  says  my  heart  is  no  bigger 
than  that  (placing  one  forefinger  at  the  base  of  the 
nail  of  another  finger).  We  have  all  fought  hard. 
We  did  not  know  Custer,  When  we  saw  him  we 
threw  up  our  hands,  and  I  cried,  '  Follow  me  and 
do  as  I  do.'  We  whipped  each  other's  horses,  and 
it  was  all  over.  There  was  not  as  many  Indians 
as  the  white  man  says.  They  are  all  warriors. 
There  was  not  more  than  two  thousand.  I  did  not 
want  to  kill  any  more  men.  I  did  not  like  that  kind 

SELF-DEFENSE. 

of  work.    I  only  defended  my  camp.    When  we  had 
killed  enough,  that  was  all  that  was  necessary. 
"  If  the  Great  Father  gives  me  a  reservation  I  do 


AND    THE  IN'DIAN   WAR. 

not  want  to  be  confined  to  any  part  of  it,  I  want 
no  restraint.  I  will  keep  on  the  reservation,  but 
want  to  go  where  I  please.  I  don't  want  a  white 
man  over  me.  I  don't  want  an  agent.  I  want  to 
have  the  white  man  with  me,  but  not  to  be  my  chief. 
I  ask  this  because  I  want  to  do  right  by  my  people, 
and  can't  trust  any  one  else  to  trade  with  them  or 
talk  to  them.  I  want  interpreters  to  talk  to  the 
white  man  for  me  and  transact  my  business,  but  I 
want  it  to  be  seen  and  known  that  I  have  my  rights. 
I  want  my  people  to  have  light  wagons  to  work 
with.  They  do  not  know  how  to  handle  heavy 
wagons  with  cattle.  We  want  light  wagons  and 
ponies.  I  don't  want  to  give  up  game  as  long  as 
there  is  any  game.  I  will  be  half  civilized  till  the 
game  is  gone.  Then  I  will  be  all  a  white  man/* 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   MIGHTY   FALLEN. 

SITTING  BULL  RUINED  BY  His  FLIGHT  TO  CANADA — His  FOLLOWERS 
STARVED  INTO  MUTINY  AGAINST  HIM — THE  RETURN  TO  DAKOTA — 
THE  FATE  OF  His  DAUGHTER,  SLEEPING  WATER — A  VAIN  APPEAL 
^— TAKEN  TO  FORT  RANDALL  AS  A  PRISONER  OF  WAR. 

The  flight  into  Canada  was,  however,  ruinous  to 
Sitting  Ball,  and  from  it  we  must  date  his  decline. 
The  British  Government  gave  them  refuge  and  pro 
tection,  but  that  was  all.  It  gave  them  no  supplies 
whatever,  and  forbade  them  to  make  raids  across 
the  United  States  border.  Thus  thrown  upon  their 
own  resources,  they  gradually  drifted  toward  star 
vation.  The  land  around  Fort  Walsh  was  barren, 
and  game  was  scarce.  The  locality  was  in  no  wise 
to  be  compared  with  their  old  home  on  the  Rosebud. 
They  gave  notice  once  that  they  proposed  returning 
to  kill  and  eat  the  buffalo,  but  abandoned  the  under 
taking  on  Sitting  Bull's  advice  as  one  fraught  with 
too  much  danger.  They  entered  into  negotiations 
with  the  Blackfeet ;  but  these  diplomats,  finding  the 
impoverished  condition  of  the  Sioux,  proved  treach 
erous,  stole  their  ponies,  and  fled  to  the  mountains. 

156 


AND    THE  INDIA  A    WAR.  157 

During  the  three  or  four  years  that  they  lived  north 
of  the  line  they  suffered  terribly  for  food  and  cloth 
ing.  Their  women  and  children  died  of  want,  and 
the  braves  themselves  hunted  in  vain. 

In  the  meantime  Dakota  was  fast  becoming  civil 
ized,  and  the  buffalo  and  other  game  were  disap 
pearing  from  the  old  hunting  ground  of  the  Sioux. 
Sitting  Bull  kept  himself  fully  posted  as  to  the  sit 
uation,  and  satisfied  himself  that  he  and  his  follow 
ers  could  not  return  except  as  prisoners.  The 
chief  could  not  keep  this  information  to  himself, 
and  as  a  consequence  dissatisfaction  became  wide 
spread.  He  lost  his  power  of  keeping  his  followers 
together,  and  sub-chiefs  led  hundreds  of  the  sav- 

DESERTING  THE  OLD  CHjEF. 

ages  away  in  raiding  bands ;  some  of  them  came 
over  the  line  and  others  hovered  near  the  boundary. 
Gall  and  Crow  King  were  the  leaders  of  those  who 
deserted  him.  They  returned  to  the  United  States 
and  surrendered  themselves  to  the  authorities 
They  were  placed  on  the  reservation,  and  have  ever 
since  been  regarded  as  the  foremost  men  of  the 
Sioux  nation.  Sitting  Bull,  however,  stubbornly 
held  out,  hoping  that  the  Canadian  authorities  would 
make  terms  for  him  with  the  Government  at  Wash 
ington.  In  this  he  was  disappointed,  and  at  last  he 
found  himself  deserted  by  all  but  a  few  dozen  of  his 
old  followers.  Then  a  great  blow  fell  upon  him, 
which  for  the  first  time  bowed  his  lofty  spirit.  A 
messenger  brought  him  word  that  his  favorite 


158  LIFE   OF  -SITTING   BULL 

A  GREAT  GRIEF. 

daughter  Minnestema  (Sleeping  Water),  a  name 
conferred  upon  her  by  the  whites,  had  run  away 
with  an  Indian  buck,  who  had  subsequently  aban 
doned  her.  These  tidings  well  nigh  broke  Sitting 
Bull's  heart.  With  all  his  faults  he  was  an  affec 
tionate  father,  as  most  Indians  are.  Minnestema, 
the  flower  of  the  tribe,  was  his  idol,  and  his  pride 
was  stung  to  the  quick  because  the  Indian  who  had 
so  shamelessly  deserted  her  was  a  man  whom  he 
despised.  Humbled,  despondent,  broken  in  spirit, 
Sitting  Bull  decided  to  surrender.  When  he  got  to 
Standing  Rock  Agency,  under  the  shadow  of  Fort 
Yates,  he  found  his  great  rival,  Gall,  had  gained 
complete  ascendancy  over  the  Indians  who  had  fol 
lowed  his  fortunes.  He  had  to  endure  the  mortifi 
cation,  also,  of  seeing  a  number  of  those  who  had 
heretofore  adhered  to  him  go  over  to  his  enemy. 
His  fortunes,  indeed,  were  at  a  low  ebb,  and  it 
seemed  that  he  had  lost  his  rank  and  authority  for 
ever.  It  was  in  vain  that  he  resorted  to  his  old  arts 
as  a  "medicine  man."  The  people  jeered  at  his 
spells  and  ridiculed  his  incantations.  He  tried  to 
win  them  back  by  his  oratory,  which  had  of  old  been 
so  persuasive,  but  they  would  not  listen  to  him. 

CHECKING  HIS  INTRIGUES. 

Finally  the  other  chiefs  decided  to  stop  his  in 
trigues,  fearing  that  he  would  incur  the  displeasure 
of  the  authorities  and  bring  trouble  upon  the  tribe. 
So  they  warned  the  United  States  officials  of  what 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  159 

Sitting  Bull  was  trying  to  do,  and  the  officials  deter 
mined  to  take  a  step  which  would  show  the  fallen 
chief  that  his  power  was  gone  forever.  So  they 
ordered  that  his  father,  Four  Horns,  a  decrepit  and 
imbecile  old  man,  should  have  rule  over  the  camp 
in  place  of  Sitting  Bull.  Then  the  steamer  "General 
Sherman  "  was  sent  for  and  Sitting  Bull  and  one  hun 
dred  and  forty-eight  of  his  people,  including  his  two 
wives  and  their  children  and  his  two  famous  fighting 
nephews,  were  placed  on  board  as  prisoners  of  war 
and  taken  to  Fort  Randall,  several  miles  distant 
from  the  Standing  Rock  Agency. 

A  DRAMATIC  SCENE. 

But  before  Sitting  Bull  embarked  a  dramatic  scene 
took  place.  He  determined  to  make  one  more  ef 
fort  to  regain  the  prestige  he  had  lost.  Three  thou 
sand  Indians  were  gathered  around.  It  was  a  large 
audience.  Sitting  Bull  drew  his  knife  from  its  sheath 
and  offered  it,  with  his  tomahawk,  to  Captain  Stowe, 
who  was  in  command  of  the  transfer  expedition.  At 
the  same  time  he  made  a  speech,  ostensibly  intended 
for  the  captain,  but  really  addressed  to  the  assem 
bled  Indians,  with  the  purpose  of  arousing  their 
feelings.  He  posed  before  them  as  a  hero.  After 
handing  the  captain  his  weapons  he  said  that  by 
these  signs  he  surrendered  (he  was  already  a  pris 
oner  , of  war),  and,  throwing  himself  prostrate  on 
the  ground,  he  besought  the  captain  to  take  his  life, 
to  inflict  any  torture  he  pleased  upon  him,  but  to 
spare  his  people  and  deal  with  them  kindly.  The 


I6O  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

appeal  did  not  elicit  the  response  that  Sitting  Bull 
had  hoped  for.  Instead  of  applauding,  most  of  the 
Indians  laughed  at  him.  As  a  hero  and  patriot  they 
had  no  faith  in  him.  In  their  eyes  he  had  only  ren 
dered  himself  ridiculous.  With  the  butt  ends  of  the 
soldiers'  muskets  he  was  pushed  out  of  camp  into 
the  steamer. 

At  Fort  Randall  Sitting  Bull  sent  a  message  to 
the  government,  promising  that  if  he  were  allowed 
to  go  back  to  the  place  of  his  birth,  on  the  Grand 

WHITE  MEN'S  CLOTHES. 

River,  he  would  wear  white  men's  clothes,  and  en 
deavor  to  persuade  his  followers  to  do  the  same 
thing.  He  said  that  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  there  could  be  no  .more  fighting  on  the  part 
of  his  people,  and  that  the  next  generation  of 
Indians  would  have  to  become  like  the  white  men 
around  them  and  learn  to  till  the  earth  and  master 
the  mechanical  arts.  After  awhile  Sitting  Bull  was 
permitted  to  return  to  Standing  Rock,  and  later  was 
allowed  to  go  to  the  Grand  River  valley.  This 
valley  comprises  the  traditional  sacred  hunting 
grounds  of  the  Sioux  Indians.  It  is  the  richest  of 
all  the  Indian  possessions  in  North  America.  Sit 
ting  Bull  built  for  himself  a  little  "shack"  on  the 
Grand  River,  about  fifteen  miles  from  the  place 
where  he  was  born.  With  the  exception  of  a  trip 
which  he  made  to  the  East,  accompanied  by  some 
of  his  people,  he  has  lived  at  this  place  ever  since. 
Down  to  this  time  Sitting  Bull  had  always  de- 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR.  l6l 

spised  the  white  men  and  disbelieved  in  their  power. 
When  Red  Cloud  and  other  chiefs  who  had  visited 
Washington  told  him  of  the  greatness  of  the  United 
States,  he  shook  his  head  incredulously,  and  told  them 
that  they  had  been  deceived  by  "  bad  medicine." 
But  after  a  time  he  came  on  himself  to  the  East  and 
made  a  tour  of  the  principal  cities,  and  thus  got  his 
eyes  opened.  For  the  time  he  sunk  his  aversion  to 
the  white  race  and  professed  great  love  for  all,  from 
the  Great  Father  at  Washington  down  to  the  most 
recently  naturalized  citizen.  At  one  time  he  con 
templated  a  European  tour,  but  abandoned  the  pro 
ject.  In  1884  he  was  placed  on  exhibition  in  the 
hall  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in 

PRESS  ABUSE. 

Philadelphia.  A  local  newspaper  made  an  exhaus 
tive  attack  on  him,  telling  of  his  atrocities,  and  not 
sparing  some  peculiarly  horrible  embellishments. 
The  a^ent  of  the  show  was  delighted,  but  when 

&  o 

night  came  and  the  pious  Philadelphians  refused  to 
look  upon  the  moon-faced  warrior,  he  became 
annoyed,  and  spoke  to  the  painted  attraction  in 
severe  and  blasphemous  language.  After  this  tour 
he  returned  to  the  agency,  which  had  been  located 
at  Standing  Rock.  For  the  four  or  five  years  pre 
vious  to  the  recent  ghost  dances  the  Bull  lived  a 
retired  life  and  did  little  mixing  with  the  whites  at 
the  post.  "Jim"  Finley,  of  Kansas  City,  who  was 
given  the  Pine  Ridge  tradership,  said  upon  his  first 
trip  home  after  his  appointment  that  Sitting  Bull's 


1 62  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

days  of  prominence  were  past.  The  Sioux  had 
grown  to  pay  much  heed  to  their  agent,  and  the 
young  blood  was  coming  to  the  front  in  tribal 
leadership.  Sitting  Bull  was  no  longer  potent  as  a 
leader  as  in  former  days,  although  as  a  medicine 
man  he  was  still  in  high  repute. 

When  the  census  of  Indian  tribes  was  taken  in 
1881,  Sitting  Bull  was  visited  by  Mr.  William  Sel- 
wyn,  a  full-blooded  Dakota  Indian,  who  was  em 
ployed  by  the  Government  as  a  census-taker.  The 
chief  on  that  occasion  dictated  a  message  to  the 
"  Great  Father  "  at  Washington,  which  Mr.  Selwyn 
wrote  down  in  Sioux  and  afterward  translated  into 
English.  Sitting  Bull's  address  to  Mr.  Selwyn  and 
his  message  to  the  President  were  as  follows  : 

MESSAGE  TO  THE  PRESIDENT. 

"I  am  the  son  of  the  He-Topa  (Four  Horns,  late 
a  chief  of  the  Unk-pa-pas),  and  it  is  said  that  heAvas 
one  of  your  relatives  ;  so,  then,  you  are  a  younger 
brother  to  me  (sunkachiye).  You  are  a  full-blooded 
Dakota,  but  you  adopt  the  ways  of  the  whites,  and 
I  hear  that  you  have  been  employed  by  the  Great 
Father. 

"  For  the  last  few  years  I  have  been  in  the  North, 
where  there  are  plenty  of  buffalo,  for  the  buffalo 
were  my  means  of  living.  God  made  me  to  live  on 
the  flesh  of  the  buffalo,  so  I  thought  I  would  stay  out 
there  as  long  as  there  were  buffalo  enough  for  us. 
But  the  Great  Father  sent  for  me  several  times,  and 
although  I  did  not  know  why  he  wanted  me  to  come 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR. 

down,  at  last  I  consented  to  do  so.  I  never,  myself, 
made  war  against  the  children  of  the  Great  Father, 
and  I  never  sought  a  fight  with  them.  While  I  was 
looking  for  buffalo,  they  would  attack  and  shoot  at 
me,  and  of  course  I  had  to  defend  myself  or  else  I 
should  die.  But  all  the  blame  is  put  on  me.  I  have 
always  thought  that  the  Dakotas  were  all  one  body, 
and  I  wanted  to  make  an  agreement  with  them  to 
come  and  settle  down.  While  I  have  been  in  the 
North,  here  and  there,  a  good  many  little  things 
have  happened,  and  I  have  been  blamed  for  them  ; 

I  AM  INNOCENT. 

but  I  know  that  I  am  innocent.  Those  men  who 
have  made  the  trouble  ought  to  be  blamed.  Every 
body  knows  that  I  was  not  going  to  stay  at  the 
North  any  longer,  but  that  when  the  buffalo  disap 
peared  I  should  make  up  my  mind  to  come  down. 
"Although  you  are  a  Dakota,  you  are  employed 
by  the  Great  Father ;  therefore  I  want  you  to  let 
htm  hear  my  words.  *When  I  first  came  down,  white 
men  came  to  me  almost  every  day  to  get  some 
words  out  of  me,  but  I  said:  'No!  When  I  settle 
down  I  shall  say  some  words  to  the  Great  Father/ 
I  know  that  some  white,  rascals  have  dealt  with  the 
Dakotas,  and  by  their  foolish  ways  have  ruined 
them.  As  for  myself,  I  do  not  want  any  one  to  do 
mischievously  or  deceitfully.  So  I  do  not  want  to 
let  any  ordinary  man  hear  my  words.  I  tell  the 


j66  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

whites  that  my  words  are  worth  something ;  and 
even  if  they  were  willing  to  pay  me  for  it,  1  never 
made  any  reply.  But  as  soon  as  I  saw  you  I  was 
well  pleased.  Although  you  are  a  Dakota,  you 
have  gathered  up  many  good  words  and  put  them 
into  my  ears.  To-day  I  was  wishing  that  some  one 
would  come  in  and  advise  me,  and  as  you  have  done 

THIS  PEOPLE  BELONG  TO  ME. 

so,  it  pleases  me  very  much.  All  this  people  here 
belong  to  me  and  I  hope  that  the  Great  Father  will 
treat  them  kindly,  i  always  thought  that  when  we 
came  back,  and  any  of  my  relatives  came  to  me  with 
good  words,  I  should  reply, '  Yes,  yes.'  'lo-day  you 
have  put  good  words  into  my  ears,  and  I  have  said, 
*  Yes.'  In  the  future  I  hope  I  shall  have  some  good, 
honest,  reliable  man  with  me.  Interpreters  have 
come  to  me  often,  following  me  up,  and  I  have  said, 
'  No.  I  am  not  a  child ;  if  I  want  to  do  anything,  I 
shall  take  time  to  think  it  over/  It  is  said  Spotted 
Tail  was  killed  by  getting  mixed  up  with  bad  men. 
Oftentimes  a  man  has  lost  his  life  by  being  mixed 
up  with  bad  men.  But  I  wish  that  my  people  may 
be  treated  well,  so  that  they  may  do  rightly.  I  am 
the  last  one  that  has  come  in  from  the  North,  and 
yet  I  want  to  surpass  the  old  agency  Dakotas  in 
what  is  right,  and  I  wish  that  the  Great  Father 
would  furnish  me  with  farming  implements,  so  that 
I  can  till  the  ground. 


AND    THE   INDIAN   WAR.  l6* 

"  My  brother,  I  wish  you  would  send  this  message 
to  the  Great  Father  right  away,  so  that  he  will  help 
me.  Now  I  have  confidence  in  you  that  you  will  be 
able  to  send  off  my  message.  I  am  glad  that  you 
came  to  see  me.  It  is  a  good  thing  for  relatives  to 
see  each  other.  I  have  no  objections  to  your  num 
bering  the  people 

••SITTING  BULL/' 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  LAST  CAMPAIGN, 

SITTING  BUJL  INVOLVED  IN  THE  MESSIAH  CRAZE — His  HOPE  OF  RE 
GAINING  His  OLD  POSITION — PLOTS  AND  DISAFFECTION — VISITED  BY 
A  YOUNG  LADY  MISSIONARY — AGENT  MCLAUGHLIN'S  VISIT — THE 
GHOST  DANCES— SITTING  BULL'S  REMARKABLE  PROPOSITION. 

Sitting  Bull's  camp,  in  the  summer  and  fall  of 
1890,  was  on  the  Grand  River,  about  forty  miles 
southwest  from  the  Standing  Rock  Agency.  The 
place  lies  away  from  lines  of  travel,  and  is  quiet  and 
secluded.  He  was  glad  there  to  be  hidden  from 
the  world  in  which  he  had  been  such  a  striking 
figure.  It  was  his  intention  to  spend  the  rest  of 
his  days  in  seclusion  there  ;  but  such  was  not  to  be 
his  fate.  He  came  forth  from  his  isolated  camp  to 
die. 

The  year  1890  was  a  hard  one  for  the  Indians. 
In  addition  to  the  broken  faith  of  the  Government, 
the  swindling  practices  of  its  agents,  and  the  un 
scrupulous  aggressions  of  the  settlers,  they  had  to 
bear  the  burden  of  bad  weather,  poor  crops,  and  a 

168 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  169 

scarcity  of  game.  Their  complaints  were  just,  and 
loud,  and  bitter ;  but  were  little  heeded.  Then  there 

MESSIAH   COMING. 

was  started,  somewhere  or  other,  a  rumor  that  the 
Messiah  was  coming — the  Messiah  whom  immemo 
rial  tradition  had  declared  would  one  day  come,  fol 
lowed  by  all  the  great  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the 
past,  returned  to  life,  to  lead  the  Indians  to  victory 
over  their  white  oppressors.  This  idea  broke  forth 
simultaneously  in  the  minds  of  many  tribes — of  the 
vSioux  in  Dakota,  of  the  Cherokees  in  Indian  Terri 
tory,  of  the  Apaches  in  Arizona.  It  spread  like  an 
epidemic.  It  was  born  of  the  wretchedness  and 
need  of  the  people,  and  it  found  believers  every 
where.  The  Indians  began  holding  religious  gather 
ings,  with  wild  ceremonies,  commonly  called  "ghost 
dances." 

This  was  to  prepare  for  the  Messiah's  coming. 
Some  great  dances  were  held  at  Kicking  Bear's 
camp,  near  Cheyenne,  and  were  attended  by  a  few 
of  Sitting  Bull's  men.  When  these  returned  home 
they  took  Kicking  Bear  with  them.  He  told  Sitting 

REVELATIONS  OF  MESSIAH. 

Bull  the  revelations  the  Messiah  had  made  to  him, 
and  stated  that  the  spirit  had  deputized  Bull  to  con 
duct  the  dances  at  the  agency,  finally  presenting  to 
him  a  decorated  shirt  or  mantle  of  apostleship.  Bull 
at  once  gathered  about  him  all  the  bad  elements  he 
could  to  commence  the  dances.  He  stopped  when 
cfrdered  to,  but  soon  recommenced  with  redoubled 


170  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

vigor.  In  the  meanwhile,  he  sent  agents  into  the 
hills  to  spread  his  wishes  among  the  other  clans  of 
the  Sioux  nation,  and  to  visit  the  Shoshones,  the 
Blackfeet,  the  Araphoes,  the  Gros  Ventrias,  the 

EVIL  INFLUENCE  OF  BULL. 

Ogalallas  and  other  tribes.  What  his  influence  for 
evil  would  have  been,  his  previous  career  gives 
abundant  suggestion.  He  now  saw,  as  he  sup 
posed,  his  opportunity  to  regain  his  old  standing  in 
the  Sioux  nation,  and  he  tried  his  best  to  take  ad 
vantage  of  it.  Naturally  superstitious,  the  Indians 
were  ready  for  such  an  outpouring  of  their  pent-up 
feelings  in  the  form  of  a  religious  dance.  Bull  had 
always  gained  his  greatest  successes  from  his  ability 
as  a  medicine  man  or  diplomat,  and -he  felt  that  the 
time  for  him  to  get  his  revenge  on  the  other  chiefs 
and  on  the  Government  had  arrived.  He  at  the 
start  joined  in  with  the  ghost  dancers,  not  shouting 
and  dancing  so  much  as  inciting  the  others  to  the 
greatest  activity  in  that  line.  When  the  Indians 
would  go  dancing  around  in  a  circle  until  they  fell 
to  the  ground  from  giddiness  and  exhaustion,  the 
wily  old  chief  would  take  his  place  alongside  of  the 
fallen  one,  and,  after  a  few  words  with  him,  would 

SPURRING  THEM  ON. 

announce  what  visions  of  the  Messiah  and  the 
coming  again  of  the  hunting  grounds  of  the  past 
had  been  witnessed,  and  the  dance  would  be  re 
sumed  with  renewed  vigor.  Soon  another  would  fall 


AND    THE   INDIAN   WAR.  \*]l 

in  a  faint  and  the  same  programme  would  be  gone 
through  with. 

The  Government  gave  orders  that  all  the  ghost 
dances  everywhere  should  be  stopped,  but  espe 
cially  those  at  Sitting  Bull's  camp.  It  had  become 
evident  that  while  he  was  allowed  to  run  around 
corrupting  the  weak  minds  of  his  tribe  and  inciting 
them  to  outlawry,  there  could  be  no  quietude. 
Evidence  had  been  secured  that  he  had  arrange 
ments  made  to  gather  in  a  body  all  the  young  bucks 
in  the  spring  and  start  out  on  a  general  raid.  The 
ghost  dances,  which  the  young  bucks  rightly  inter 
preted  as  war  dances,  he  was  keeping  up,  that  their 
enthusiasm  and  hatred  might  not  die  out,  and  he 
urged  the  excitement  on,  despite  the  desires  and 
orders  of  the  authorities.  As  he  was  indifferent  to 
advice  Gen.  Miles  concluded  it. would  be  a  good 
move  to  arrest  him  and  isolate  him  for  a  time  from 
the  scene  of  his  pernicious  activity. 

Several  visits  were  paid  to  Sitting  Bull  by  various 
persons  in  the  hope  of  persuading  him  to  give  up 
the  dances  and  stop  his  plotting  without  harsh  steps 
being  taken.  One  young  lady,  a  missionary  and 

A  LADY'S  HEROISM. 

teacher,  went  to  see  him.  She  went  alone,  unarmed, 
and  without  any  commission  from  the  Government, 
to  remonstrate  with  this  most  savage  chief.  With 
only  an  Indian  boy  to  accompany  her  she  went  over 
to  Cross  Bear's  village,  and  there  came  in  sight  of 
Sitting  Bull's  people.  They  had  several  hundred 


172  LIFE    OF  SITTING   BULL 

tepees,  and  a  ghost  dance  was  in  progress.  When 
she  arrived  there  the  men  were  dressed  in  old-time 
war  dress,  painted  and  feathered.  The  women  also 
were  painted,  and,  what  is  rather  strange  in  Indian 
life,  every  woman  had  a  white  feather  tied  to  her 
hair.  The  Indians  regard  feathers  as  a  sign  of  mas 
culine  superiority  and  prowess,  and  do  not  allow 
women  to  wear  them.  There  seems  to  be  some 
thing  about  this  craze  that  invests  the  woman  with 
greater  importance,  and  it  is  supposed  that  in  case 
of  hostilities  the  women  would  fight  as  the  men. 
The  Sioux  had  a  tall  centre  pole,  with  all  sorts  of 
flags  flying  on  it,  and  around  this  pole  they  formed 
a  ring  and  were  chanting  some  religious  song,  all 
the  while  gazing  fixedly  at  the  sun.  Near  this  pole, 
outside  of  the  ring,  was  a  tepee,  in  which  old  Sitting 
Bull  sat.  All  who  took  part  in  the  dance  went  to 
this  tepee  to  be  painted  by  the  old  medicine  man. 
He  put  blue  crescents  on -their  foreheads,  cheeks, 
and  chins,  and  a  cross  on  the  nose  between  the  eyes, 
Even  the  little  Sioux  children  went  into  the  tepee 
and  were  decorated,  and  coming  out  went  off  a  little 
distance  and  set  up  a  dance  of  their  own. 

The  young  woman  went  into  Sitting  Bull's  tepee 
and  had  an  interview  with  him.  He  sat  opposite 
the  door.  His  hands  and  wrists  were  painted  yellow 
and  green,  and  his  face  red,  green,  and  white.  The 
zealous  young  missionary  gave  him  a  thorough 
lecturing  in  his  own  language.  The  old  man  replied 
that  the  other  chiefs  had  ignored  him  in  selling  their 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  173 

lands  and  opening  the  reservations ;  that  he  was 
determined  to  be  chief,  and  his  only  way  was  by 
giving  the  people  religious  excitement,  He  did  not 
want  his  people  to  become  civilized  or  Christianized, 

LOVE  OF  POWER. 

because  if  they  did  he  would  lose  his  power.  The 
young  woman  gave  Sitting  Bull  another  lecture  and 
retired. 

Sitting  Bull  was  also  visited  at  about  this  time  by 
Mr.  lames  McLau^hlin,  the  ao-ent  at  Standing  Rock, 

J  o  o  o 

who  made  to  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs 
the  following  report  of  his  misison : 

"Having  just  returned  from  Grand  River  district, 
and  referring  to  my  former  communication  regard 
ing  the  ghost  dance  craze  among  the  Indians,  I 
have  the  honor  to  report  that  on  Saturday  evening 
last  I  learned  that  such  a  dance  was  in  progress  in 
Sitting  Bull's  camp,  and  that  a  large  number  of 
Indians  of  the  Grand  River  settlements  were  parti 
cipators.  Sitting  Bill's  camp  is  on  the  Grand  River, 
forty  miles  southwest  from  the  agency,  in  a  section 
of  country  outside  of  the  line  of  travel,  only  visited  by 
those  connected  with  the  Indian  service,  and  was 
therefore  a  secluded  place  for  these  scenes.  I  con 
cluded  to  take  them  by  surprise,  and  on  Saturday 
morning  left  for  that  settlement  accompanied  by 
Louis  Primeau,  arriving  there  about  3  P.  M.,  and 
having  left  the  road  usually  traveled  by  men  visit 
ing  the  settlement,  we  got  noon  them  unexpectedly, 
and  found  a  ghost  dance  at  its  height.  There  were 


174  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

about  forty-five  men,  twenty-five  women,  twenty-five 
boys,  and  ten  girls  participating,  a  majority  of  the 
latter  (boys  and  girls),  until  a  few  weeks  ago,  pupils 
of  the  day  schools  of  the  Grand  River  settlements. 
Approximately,  200  persons,  lookers-on,  had  come 
to  witness  the  ceremony,  either  from  curiosity  or 
sympathy,  most  of  whom  had  their  families  with 
them  and  encamped  in  the  neighborhood. 

u  I  did  not  attempt  to  stop  the  dance  then  going 

CRAZED  EXCITEMENT. 

on,  as  in  their  crazed  condition  under  tne  excite-: 
ment  it  would  have  been  useless  to  attempt  it,  but 
after  remaining  some  time  talking  with  a  number  of 
the  spectators,  I  went  on  to  the  house  of  Henry  Bull 
Head,  three  miles  distant,  where  I  remained  over 
night,  and  returned  to  Sitting  Bull's  house  next 
morning,  where  I  had  a  long  talk  with  Sitting  Bull 
and  a  number  of  his  followers.  I  spoke  very  plainly 
to  them,  pointing  out  what  had  been  done  by  the 
Government  for  the  Sioux  people,  and  how  this 
faction,  by  their  present  conduct,  were  abusing  the 
confidence  that  had  been  reposed  in  them  by  the 
Government  in  its  magnanimity  in  granting  them 
full  amnesty  for  all  past  offenses,  when  from  destitu 
tion  and  imminent  starvation  they  were  compelled 
to  surrender  as  prisoners  of  war  in  1880  and  1881; 
and  I  dwelt  at  length  upon  what  was  being  done  in 
the  way  of  education  of  their  children  and  for  their 
own  industrial  advancement,  and  assured  them  of 
what  this  absurd  craze  would  lead  to,  and  the  chas- 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR.  175 

tisement  that  would  certainly  follow  if  these  demor 
alizing  dances  and  disregard  of  department  orders 
were  not  soon  discontinued. 

"  I  spoke  with  feeling  and  earnestness,  and  my 
talk  was  well  received,  and  I  am  convinced  that  it 
had  a  good  effect.  Sitting  Bull,  while  being  very 
obstinate  and  at  first  inclined  to  assume  the  role  of 
'Big  Chief  before  his  followers,  finally  admitted  the 
truth  of  my  reasoning,  and  said  that  he  believed  me 
to  be  a  friend  to  the  Indians  as  a  people,  but  that  I 
didn't  like  him  personally,  but  that  when  in  doubt  in 
any  matter  following  my  advice  he  had  always  found 
it  well,  and  that  he  had  a  proposition  to  make  to  me, 
which,  if  I  agreed  to  and  would  carry  out,  would 
allay  all  further  excitement  among  the  Sioux  over 
the  ghost  dance,  or  else  convince  me  of  the  truth  of 
the  belief  of  the  Indians  in  this  new  doctrine. 
HIS  PROPOSITION. 

"  He  then  stated  his  proposition,  which  was  that 
I  should  accompany  him  on  a  journey  to  trace  from 
this  agency  to  each  of  the  other  tribes  of  Indians 
through  which  the  story  of  the  Indian  Messiah  had 
been  brought,  and  when  they  reached  the  last  tribe, 
or  where  it  originated,  if  they  could  not  produce  the 
man  who  started  the  story,  and  we  did  not  find  the 
new  Messiah,  as  described,  upon  the  earth,  together 
with  the  dead  Indians  returning  to  re-inhabit  this 
country,  he  would  return  convinced  that  they  (the 
Indians)  had  been  too  credulous  and  imposed  upon, 
which  report  from  him  would  satisfy  the  Sioux,  and 


176  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

all  practices  of  the  ghost  societies  would  cease, 
but  that  if  found  to  be  as  professed  by  the  Indians) 
they  be  permitted  to  continue  their  medicine  prac 
tices,  and  organize  as  they  are  now  endeavoring  to 
do. 

"I  told  him  that  this  proposition  was  a  novel  one, 
but  that  the  attempt  to  carry  it  out  would  be  similar 
to  an  attempt  to  catch  up  the  wind  that  blew  last 
year,  but  that  I  wished  him  to  come  to  my  house, 
where  1  would  giv^  him  a  whole  night  or  day  and 
night,  in  which  time  I  thought  I  could  convince  him 
of  the  absurdity  of  this  foolish  craze,  and  the  fact  of 
his  making  me  the  proposition  that  he  did  was  con 
vincing  proof  that  he  did  not  fully  believe  in  what 
he  was  professing  and  endeavoring  so  hard  to  make 
others  believe.  He  didn't,  however,  promise  fully 
to  come  into  the  agency  to  discuss  the  matter,  but 
said  he  would  consider  my  talk  and  decide  after 
deliberation, 

"  Desiring  to  use  every  reasonable  means  to  bring 
Sitting  Bull  and  his  followers  to  abandon  this  dance, 
and  to  look  upon  its  practice  as  detrimental  to  their 
individual  interests  and  the  welfare  of  their  children, 

INVESTIGATING  THE   CRAZE. 

I  made  the  trip  herein  reported  to  ascertain  the  ex 
tent  of  the  disaffection  and  the  best  means  of  effect 
ing  its  discontinuance.  From  close  observation,  I 
am  convinced  that  the  dance  can  be  broken  up,  and 
after  due  reflection  would  respectfully  suggest  that 
in  case  my  visit  to  Sitting  Bull  fails  to  bring  him  in 


AND    THE   INDIAN   WAR.  \JJ 

to  see  me  in  regard  to  the  matter,  as  invited  to  do, 
all  Indians  living  on  Grand  River  be  notified  that 
those  wishing  to  be  known  as  opposed  to  the  ghost 
doctrine,  friendly  to  the  Government,  and  desiring 
the  support  provided  in  the  treaty,  must  report  to 
the  agency  for  such  enrollment,  and  be  required  to 
camp  near  the  agency  for  a  few  weeks,  and  those 
continuing  their  medicine  practices,  in  violation  of 
department  orders,  to  remain  on  Grand  River,  from 
whom  subsistence  will  be  withheld." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

DEATH  OF  THE  GREAT  CHIEF. 

GENERAL  MILES  GAVE  THE  WORD  FOR  His  ARREST.— WAS  IT  INTENDED 
TO  KILL  HIM,  RATHER  THAN  TAKE  HIM  ALIVE?— INDIAN  POLICE  LED 
THE  WAY.— THE  ARREST  AND  ATTEMPTED  RESCUE.— THE  FATAL  SHOT. 
— ANOTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  TRAGEDY. — DISPOSITION  OF  HIS  RE 
MAINS. 

Persuasion  failed,  and  it  became  evident  that 
force  must  be  used  to  stop  the  evil  influence  of  Sit 
ting  Bull  in  the  Messianic  propoganda.  Orders 
for  his  arrest  were  accordingly  issued.  Colonel  W. 
F.  Cody,  <4  Buffalo  Bill,"  was  at  first  sent  to  execute 
the  order,  but  was  recalled.  It  was  realized  that  a 
stronger  military  force  would  be  needed. 

NO  AGENCY  INDIAN. 

"  God  Almighty  made  me  ;  God  Almighty  did  not 
make  me  an  agency  Indian,  and  I'll  fight  and  die 
fighting  before  any  white  man  can  make  me  an 
agency  Indian."  This  was  the  declaration  made  by 
Sitting  Bull  to  General  Miles  on  the  occasion  of 
their  first  meeting.  He  was  now  animated  by  this 
same  spirit,  and  serious  work  was  feared.  He  was 
known  to  be  preparing  for  a  rush  to  the  Bad  Lands, 

178 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR. 

where  the  difficulty  of  taking  him  would  be  vastly 
increased.  Once  in  the  Bad  Lands  it  would  be  a 
long  time  and  there  would  be  much  hard  fighting 
before  any  of  the  hostiles  could  be  taken  or  starved 
out.  Therefore  it  seemed  necessary  to  act  at  once, 
and  orders  were  given  to  the  police  to  get  ready  for 
action,  and  they  set  out  during  Sunday  night  for  the 
scene  of  the  next  morning's  encounter. 

A  correspondent  of  The  Chicago  Tribune  asserts 
that  there  was  a  quiet  understanding  between  the 
officers  of  the  Indian  and  military  departments  that 
it  would  be  impossible  to  bring  Sitting  Bull  to  Stand 
ing  Rock  alive,  and  that  if  brought  in  nobody  would 
know  precisely  what  to  do  with  him.  Though  under 
arrest  he  would  still  be  a  source  of  great  annoyance, 
and  his  followers  would  continue  their  dances  and 
threats  against  the  neighboring  white  settlers.  There 
was.  therefore,  a  complete  understanding  between  the 
commanding  officers  and  the  Indian  police  that  the 
slightest  attempt  to  rescue  the  old  medicine  man  should 
be  a  signal  to  send  Sitting  Bull  to  the  happy  hunting 
ground.  That  the  Government  authorities,  civil  as 

HIS  DEATH  DESIRED. 

well  as  military,  from  President  Harrison  and  Gen 
eral  Miles  down,  preferred  the  death  of  the  famous 
old  savage  to  his  capture  whole-skinned,  few  per 
sons  in  Dakota,  Indian  or  white,  had  a  doubt.  It 
was  felt  that  Sitting  Bull's  presence  anywhere  be 
hind  iron  bars  would  be  the  cause  of  endless  trou 
bles,  while  should  he  fall  a  victim  to  the  ready  Win* 


ii 


l8o  LIFE     OF    SITTING  BULL. 

Chester  the  thousands  of  Messiah-crazed  ghost 
dancers  would  rudely  realize  that  his  "  medicine," 
which  was  to  make  them  bullet-proof  and  yet  could 
not  save  so  great  an  oracle,  must  be  worthless  after 
all,  and  should  be  forsaken  for  the  paths  of  peace. 

It  is  conceded  that  the  operation  against  Sitting 
Bull's  personality  was  suggested  by  the  effectual 
quelling  produced  by  the  removal  of  Medicine  Ar 
row,  the  great  Cheyenne  leader,  when  the  Chey- 
ennes  threatened  an  unprecedented  uprising.  The 
promise  to  "  die  fighting,"  quoted  above,  had  much 
to  do  also  in  shaping  the  determination  for  a  sudden, 
decisive  result,  as  well  as  the  old  chiefs  oft-ex 
pressed  wish  to  be  remembered  as  the  last  Indian 
on  the  continent  to  give  up  his  rifle. 

When  General  Miles  set  out  for  Dakota,  it  was 
the  beginning  of  the  end.  With  the  General  step 
ping  quietly  aboard  the  train  at  the  big  railway  depot 
at  Chicago  the  expedition  which  had  been  with  equal 
quietude  under  preparation  at  Fort  Yates,  which 
forms  part  of  the  agency,  was  also  ready  to  move. 
Almost  at  the  same  moment  that  General  Miles's 
car  glided  out  for  the  Northwest  the  members  of  his 
little  command  at  the  Fort,  like  so  many  automatons 
guided  by  his  will,  silently  took  their  departure  and 

THE  STAGE  SETTING. 

were  quickly  lost  in  the  inky  darkness  that  envel 
oped  the  wilderness  stretching  to  the  camp  of  Sit 
ting  Bull  on  the  banks  of  the  Grand  River. 

The  death  of  Sitting   Bull   had   an  appropriate 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  183 

stage-setting.  The  preparations  for  the  tragedy 
lacked  no  element  of  the  picturesque  and  impressive 
The  van  was  led  by  men  of  Sitting  Bull's  own  blood, 
superbly  mounted  and  accoutered,  and  every  one 
wearing  the  bright  brazen  buttons  and  showy  blue 
cloth  uniforms  of  Uncle  Sam's  service.  This  was  no 
mere  coincidence.  It  was  to  be  part  of  the  great 
object  lesson  to  the  ghost  dancers  and  a  demonstra 
tion  of  the  value  of  General  Miles's  new  method  of 
solving  the  Indian  problem  by  turning  the  Indians  by 
wholesale  into  soldiers. 

On  Saturday,  December  13,  1890,  General  Miles 
sent  word  to  Major  McLaughlin  and  Captain  Fechet 
that  the  time  to  strike  the  blow  had  come,  and  on 
the  next  morning,  Sunday,  Troops  F  and  G,  Eighth 
Cavalry,  and  a  company  of  infantry,  preceded  by 
about  twenty  of  the  Indian  police,  started  to  the  south 
west  to  capture  the  chief  of  the  recalcitrants.  The  dis 
tance  was  forty-three  miles,  and  the  United  States 
troops  stopped  and  consulted  with  the  police  about 
five  miles  from  the  tepees  on  the  Grand  River.  It 
was  agreed  at  a  consultation  that  the  troops  should 
.move  up  to  within  two  or  three  miles  of  the  Indian 
camp  and  station  themselves  where  they  could  be 
easily  signaled.  The  Indian  police  were  then  to 
move  quietly  down  to  the  tepees  and  proceed  imme 
diately  to  that  of  Sitting  Bull,  arriving  there  just  at 
dawn. 

The  band  of  well-fed,  warmly  clad,  copper-faced 
athletes  that  led  the  way  for  the  white  soldiers  were 


184  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

in  striking  contrast  with  sthe  starving",  ragged 
wretches  that,  with  such  a  cunning  leader  as  Sitting 

STEALING  UPON  HIM. 

Bull,  formed  a  menace  in  the  Grand  River  camp. 
Close  behind  the  Indians'  hardy  ponies,  but  taking  a 
slower  pace  on  the  frozen  trail,  came  Captain  Fouch- 
et's  cavalry  command.  The  cavalry  were  encum 
bered  with  two  pieces  of  modern  light  artillery — 
machine  guns  that  are  similar  to  those  which  so 
speedily  settled  the  fate  of  Louis  Kiel's  half-breed 
followers.  To  the  rear  of  Fouchet's  cavalry,  and  at 
times  taking  a  double-quick  step  forward,  for  the 
night  was  bitterly  cold,  the  infantry  command  of  Col 
onel  Drum  swung  along  in  the  darkness.  A  weary, 
difficult  march  it  was,  too.  The  distance,  and  the 
capabilities  of  the  troops  to  withstand  the  fatigues  of 
such  a  journey,  had  been  figured  out  nicely,  and 
when  the  first  faint  light  of  dawn  appeared  the  ex 
pedition  was  within  easy  distance  of  its  destination. 
The  broken  order  of  a  triple  separation  of  forces 
had  been  carefully  preserved,  and  the  Indian  police 
were  the  first  to  sight  the  huddled  cluster  of  ugly 
looking  tepees  on  the  river  bank. 

Despite  the  early  hour  all  was  astir  in  the  village, 
where  on  every  hand  was  evidence  that  a  hurried 
exodus  was  contemplated.  The  ponies  of  the  police 
were  pushed  for  all  they  were  worth,  and  before 
Sitting  Bull's  dazed  adherents  had  half  a  chance  to 
realize  the  situation  a  dozen  of  the  police  had  pulled 
their  panting  animals  up  short  on  all  sides  of  the 


AND  TJ1E  INDIAN  WAR.  185 

chief's  abode.  Bull  Head,  lieutenant  of  police,  and 
Shaved  Head,  first  sergeant,  were  in  command.  No 
time  was  wasted  in  ceremony.  The  proud  old  medi 
cine  man  was  hustled  out,  hoisted  on  a  waiting  horse, 

RAGED  AND  SPUTTERED. 

and  in  a  trice  faced  toward  civilization.  He  raged 
and  sputtered  for  a  moment,  then  straightening  up 
shouted  hoarsely,  not  for  help,  but  a  command  to 
his  followers.  Despite  the  threatening  of  the  police, 
Winchesters  being  alternately  directed  at  his  head 
and  at  those  of  his  kinsmen,  the  old  chief  retained 
his  presence  of  mind,  and  with  a  powerful  voice, 
continued  to  direct  his  own  rescue. 

Suddenly  there  was  a  puff  of  smoke  beside  a  tepee 
and  the  sharp  crack  of  a  Winchester.  The  police 
man  at  Sitting  Bull's  right,  grasping  the  chief's 
bridle,  reeled  in  the  saddle,  and,  toppling  over,  was 
trampled  under  the  hoofs  of  the  ponies  in  the  mad 
helter  skelter  of  retreat  from  the  village.  The  shot 
was  instantly  answered  by  a  volley  from  the  police 
at  their  blanketed  tribesmen,  many  of  whom  were 
already  mounted  and  in  frenzied  pursuit.  The  po 
lice  volley  told  with  deadly  effect,  and  the  firing  in  a 
moment  was  general  on  both  sides.  Sitting  Bull 
could  be  heard  in  the  confusion  still  attempting, 
though  captive,  to  direct  the  fight.  Raising  his 
gaunt  form,  he  was  beckoning  his  sons  and  warriors 
on,  when  suddenly  his  body  straightened  rigidly, 
then  dropped  limp  on  the  hard  prairie.  The  police 
halted  round  the  corpse,  not  knowing  for  a  moment 


1 86  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

but  that  it  was  a  trick  of  the  wily  old  chief.  The 
sudden  movement  and  the  fall  of  Sitting  Bull  discon 
certed  the  pursuers,  who,  remaining  at  a  distance, 
fired  at  intervals  toward  the  police.  The  latter  held 
their  ground,  knowing  the  cavalry  under  Captain 
Fouchet  would  be  at  hand. 

To  the  surprise  of  all,  however,  the  hostiles,  who 
had  been  consulting  among  themselves,  began  a 
movement  to  close  in  from  all  sides.  The  rattle  of 
Winchesters  was  now  redoubled  by  both  parties,  the 
police  using  their  ponies  as  protection.  It  was  at 
this  critical  juncture  that  Captain  Fouchet's  men 
dashed  up,  and  the  machine  guns,  which  had  been 
put  in  position,  opened  on  the  Indians.  The  latter 
were  too  dismayed  at  this  unexpected  onslaught  to 
stand  for  a  moment,  and  all  bolted  for  the  river. 
The  cavalry  followed  only  a  short  distance,  deeming 
it  better  policy  not  to  drive  to  desperation  the  now 

A  DIFFEREN  I'  STORY. 

leaderless  mob.  Among  the  Sioux  killed  were  two 
sons  of  Sitting  Bull,  named  Blackbird  and  Crow 
Foot,  the  latter  being  only  twelve  years  old. 

A  different  story  is  told  by  one  of  the  soldiers, 
however.  According  to  him  "Bull  Head,  the  lieu 
tenant  of  the  Indian  police,  went  to  the  chiefs  house 
with  a  warrant  for  his  arrest.  No  one  but  the  old 
chief  and  two  sons  were  there.  Sitting  Bull  opened 
the  door,  and  his  son  seeing  the  house  surrounded 
by  police  gave  a  cry  of  alarm.  Without  hesitating 
a  moment  Bull  Head  fired  at  Sitting  Bull,  the  ball 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  iS/ 

striking  him  in  the  breast  over  the  left  nipple,  kill 
ing  him  instantly.  While  reeling  Sitting  Bull  man 
aged  to  draw  a  revolver,  which  exploded  just  as  he 
fell,  the  ball  entering  Bull  Head's  thigh.  One  of  the 
Indian  policemen  lifted  Sitting  Bull's  scalp.  The  old 
chiefs  face  was  a  sickening  sight.  An  Indian  bat 
tered  his  face  into  jelly  after  death  with  a  plank. 
The  few  remaining  hairs  in  his  head  were  clipped 
off,  and  his  mocassins  and  most  of  his  clothing  car 
ried  away  for  relics.  Among  his  personal  effects 
were  letters  from  Mrs.  Weldon,  of  New  York,  warn 
ing  him  to  flee  from  the  agency,  as  the  Government 
was  about  to  have  him  killed." 

It  should  be  added  that  Bull  Head  was  among 
those  mortally  wounded  in  the  affray,  and  a  few 
days  later  his  body  was  interred  with  military  honors 
at  Fort  Yates.  His  widow  stood  with  his  father  and 
brother  at  the  head  of  the  grave.  This  poor  woman 
was  at  the  Cannon  Ball  River  on  a  visit  when  she 
learned  from  a  runner  that  her  husband  had  been 
kill  in  arresting  Sitting  Bull.  She  started  at  once 
on  foot  to  find  him,  and  walked  eighty  miles  with 
out  a  rest,  falling  in  a  faint  when  admitted  to  her 
husband's  room,  which  she  reached  before  his  death. 

Sitting  Bull's  wives  and  daughters  remained  in 
their  camp,  under  the  charge  of  an  Indian  police 
man,  Gray  Eagle.  What  became  ol  his  body  is  not 
yet  positively  known,  "  It  is  learned/'  said  a  Chi 
cago  Tribune  correspondent,  "  that  Sitting  Bull's 
body,  when  brought  in  from  Grand  River,  was  taken 


1 88  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

to  the  military  hospital  to  be  dissected.  The  Indians 
at  the  agency,  the  police  and  friendly  Indians,  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  remains.  It  is  said  the 
morning  they  were  to  be  buried  a  couple  of  soldiers 
took  the  box  supposed  to  contain  the  remains  and 
dumped  it  in  an  isolated  grave  away  from  the  graves 
of  other  Indians  and  a  guard  placed  around  it.  It 
is  an  open  secret  that  really  the  box  did  not  contain 
the  remains  and  that  the  guard  was  put  on  the  grave 
as  a  blind.  It  is  believed  Sitting  Bull's  body  is  now 
in  the  dissecting-room,  and  that  in  time  the  skeleton 
will  turn  up  either  in  the  Government  museum  or 
some  other  place." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

TRIBUTES  TO  HIS  MEMORY. 

His  NIECE'S  INDIGNATION  AND  GRIEF — A  SENATOR'S  ATTEMPT  TO  BE 
FUNNY  OVER  A  TRAGEDY — "  BUFFALO  BILL'S  "  TRIBUTE — GENERAL 
SCHOFIELD'S  VIEWS — "  ADIRONDACK  "  MURRAY'S  ELOQUENT  PROTEST 
AND  REBUKE — SITTING  BULL  COMPARED  WITH  WEBSTER  AND  WITH 
GLADSTONE. 

Thus  died  Sitting  Bull.  Thus  the  world  was  rid 
of  a  troubler.  But  what  made  him  a  troubler? 
Wrongs,  injustice,  outrage.  There  are  those  who 
declare  that  the  only  good  Indian  is  a  dead  Indian, 
But  they  libel  humanity,  the  humanity  that  dwells  in 
red  skins  as  well  as  .in  white.  The  real  cause  of 
Indian  troubles,  wars,  massacres,  is  and  has  been  the 
incredibly  and  inexpressibly  base  treatment  of  the 
Indians  by  the  white  men,  in  which  the  Government 
has  often,  if  not  always,  been  particeps  criminis. 
There  were  those  who  raised  a  cry  oi  exultation  at 
the  death  of  Sitting  Bull.  There  were  many  who 
regarded  it  with  relief.  But  the  real  mind  and  heart 
of  the  American  people  felt  sad  and  ashamed,  with 

SAD  AND  ASHAMED, 

a  sadness  and  a  shame  too  deep  for  words.     Per- 

189 


I9Q  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

haps  it  was  necessary  to  kill  him.  But  the  circum 
stances,  a  century  old,  that  made  it  necessary  to 
kill  him,  that  made  him  a  being  whom  it  was  neces 
sary  to  kill,  are  only  to  be  regarded  with  national 
humiliation. 

It  will  be  of  interest  to  record  here  a  few  of  the 
utterances  which  this  grim  tragedy  evoked.  In  the 
city  of  Wilmington,  Del.,  there  live  two  nieces  of 
the  famous  chief.  One  of  them,  Mrs.  George 
Leonard,  spoke  thus  : 

MRS.  LEONARD'S  STATEMENT. 

"  I  lived  in  the  Sioux  territory  durirg  the  wars  in 
which  my  uncle,  Sitting  Bull,  who  was  my  father's 
younger  brother,  took  part.  I  left  the  territory  soon 
after  my  uncle's  return  from  Canada,  where  he  went 
after  the  Custer  fight.  I  went  to  New  York  city 
and  thence  came  here  and  was  married  five  years 
ago.  My  uncle's  death  has  made  me  very  nervous. 
I  understand  that  my  uncle's  body  will  be  taken  to 
Washington,  and  I  have  written  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior  to  see  it.  My  father's  name  was  Car- 
mock  Bull.  We  can  prove  our  identity  by  papers 
which  we  have  in  our  possession.  My  uncle,  I  think, 
was  about  53  years  of  age." 

At  this  point  she  became  very  much  agitated,  and 
said  through  her  tears  : 

"Our  people  have  been  robbed,  ruined  and  per 
secuted  by  the  white  people,  who  have  driven  us 
from  the  lands  which  were  formerly  ours,  and  not 
content  with  this  robbery  they  have  now  killed  my 


mil 


AND  THE  INDTAN  WAK.  1 9] 

uncle  in  cold  blood.  This  country  was  wned  by 
our  people  before  any  white  men  came.  Now  they 
have  killed  the  chief,  and  white  men  now  come  to 
his  family  to  look  into  his  history.  You  shall  hear 
nothing.  His  history  will  be  published,  and  then 
the  world  will  get  it. 

"You  can  understand  how  we  feel  about  tl7  3  mat 
ter.  He  was  killed,  you  see,  without  cause  or  provo 
cation,  and  it  is  natural  that  we  should  feel  strongly. 
I  have  two  brothers  yet  living  in  the  Sioux  territory. 
Many  others,  like  myself,  left  the  territory,  and  are 
now  scattered  over  the  country.  It  is  against  the 
traditions  of  our  race  to  permit  white  men  to  exam 
ine  our  records  or  pry  into  any  of  our  secrets." 

Senator  Sanders,  of  Montana,  who  was  formerly 
one  of  the  rough-and-ready,  quick-shooting,  vigilance 
committee  men  of  the  mining  camps,  may  be  quoted 
as  one  of  those  who  took  the  worst  possible  view  of 
Sitting  Bull.  He  chose  to  strive  to  be  humorous  in 
talking  of  the  tragedy. 

SENATOR  SANDER'S  DESCRIPTION. 

"I  am  in  great  distress  of  mind,"  said  he,  "  my 
heart  is  bowed  down  with  woe,  because  of  the  death 
of  my  fellow-being,  Mr.  S.  Bull,  formerly  a  resident 
of  my  State,  but  recently  a  sojourner  in  a  neighbor 
ing  territory.  He  has  gone  the  way  of  all  flesh,  and 
there  is  other  copper-colored  flesh  that  would  not  go 
far  astray  if  it  followed  him.  S.  Bull  was  a  man  of 
some  activity  in  the  line  of  industry  which  he  pur 
sued.  His  vocal  organs  were  always  in  good  re- 


1 92  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL. 

pair  ;  his  larynx  never  troubled  him  as  much  as  it 
did  other  people.  If  he  ever  suffered  from  any 
pharyingeal  difficulty  I  was  not  aware  of  it,  and  his 
stomach  was  never  satisfied. 

"  In  justice  to  him  I  should  say  that  most  of  the 
work  he  did  was  performed  by  somebody  else.  (If 
there's  any  bull  in  that  it's  all  right ;  we're  talking 
Bulls  just  now).  His  fighting  was  universally  by 
proxy,  and  the  domestic  labor  pertaining  to  his  home 
was  entirely  vicarious,  as  his  squaws  can  testify. 
He  was  a  newspaper  Indian,  craving  notoriety  and 
deadhead  advertising.  I  knew  him  as  a  warrior  and  - 
can  say  truthfully  that,  when  he  was  not  taking  any 
risks,  he  expressed  himself  fearlessly.  Vale,  Bull," 

Col.  W.  F.  Cody,  best  known  as  "  Buffalo  Bill," 
said  :  "  I  do  not  know  certainly  whether  I  met  Sitting 

BUFFALO  BILLS  STATEMENT. 

Bull  or  not  during  the  campaigns  of  '76.  He  was 
not  at  that  time  a  chief  of  any  note  ;  in  fact,  he  was 
not  much  of  a  chief,  but  more  of  a  medicine  man. 
It  was  General  Sheridan  who  really  made  him  '  a  big 
Indian.'  They  had  to  have  some  name  for  that  war, 
and  I  was  on  the  mission  at  Red  Cloud  Agency 
when  they  were  talking  about  what  name  to  give  rt. 
They  spoke  of  Chief  Galla,  Crazy  Horse,  and  others, 
all  bigger  men  than  Sitting  Bull,  but  finally  decided 
to  call  it  Sitting  Bull's  war,  and  that  made  him  seem 
to  be  a  great  man,  and  his  name  became  known  all 
over  the  country.  The  first  time  I  ever  saw  him  to 
know  him  was  when  he  joined  my  show  at  Buffalo, 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  1 93 

coming  with  eight  or  nine  of  his  chosen  people  from 
Grand  River.  He  appeared  there  before  10,000 
people,  and  was  hissed  so  it  was  some  time  before  I 
could  talk  to  the  crowd  and  secure  their  patience. 
The  same  thing  occurred  at  almost  every  place.  He 
never  did  more  than  to  appear  on  horseback  at  any 
performance  and  always  refused  to  talk  English, 
even  if  he  could.  At  Philadelphia  a  man  asked  him 
if  he  had  no  regret  at  killing  Custer  and  so  many 
whites.  He  replied  :  'I  have  answered  to  my  peo 
ple  for  the  Indians  slain  in  that  fight.  The  chief 
that  sent  Custer  must  answer  to  his  people.'  That 
is  the  only  smart  thing  I  ever  heard  him  say.  He 
was  a  peevish  Indian,  always  saying  something  bad 
in  council.  He  was  an  inveterate  beggar.  He  sold 
autographs  at  $i  a  piece  and  during  the  four  months 
he  was  with  the  show  picked  up  a  good  deal  of 
money." 

GENERAL  SCHOFIELD'S  STATEMENT. 

General  Schofield,  the  head  of  the  United  States 
Army,  said :  "  Sitting  Bull  was  a  conspicuous  man 
as  an  Indian.  He  was  not  a  warrior.  He  was  not 
a  great  battle  chief.  He  never  in  his  life  wore  the 
1  war  bonnet '  of  the  Indian.  He  was  a  '  medicine 
man,'  what  would  be  called  in  our  civilization  a 
preacher,  a  teacher.  He  was  purely  an  Indian  poli 
tician,  and  the  effort  to  get  him  into  our  camp  and 
endeavor  to  dissuade  him  from  his  wretched  dema 
gogue  ghost  dance  were  what  led  to  his  death." 

Asked  as  to  whether  there  was  any  scheme  to  lure 


194  LIF*  OF  SITTING  BULL 

Sitting  Bull  into  a  trap  and  kill  him,  General  Schof- 
ield  said:  4i  Certainly  not."  He  said  that  the  Inter 
ior  Department  people  felt  that  old  Sitting  Bull 
ought  to  be  brought  in  and  reasoned  with.  "I  did 
not  at  all  believe  in  the  Buffalo  Bill  idea,"  said  Gen 
eral  Schofield,  "  and  that  purpose  was  quickly  aban 
doned.  Major  McLaugiin  of  the  Standing  Rock 
Agency  insisted  that  old  Sitting  Bull  ought  to  be  ap 
prehended,  and  on  authority  of  the  Interior  Depart 
ment  the  Indian  police  were  sent  on  the  mission. 
They  did  their  work  well,  and  that  is  only  another 
proof  that  the  North  American  Indian  ought  to  be 
an  important  constituent  of  *he  United  States 
Army/' 

"Look  at  those  police,"  exclaimed  the  General, 
"  faithful,  true,  and  victorious  and  glorying  in  their 
victory.  I  believe  that  the  North  American  Indian, 
with  authorized  enlistment,  good  pay,  and  good 
food,  would  be  the  finest  soldier  the  world  could 
ever  see.  Wherever  he  has  been  tried  he  has  never 
failed." 

W.  H.  H.  MURRAY'S  EULOGY. 

An  eloquent  and  impassioned  tribute  was  paid  to 
Sitting  Bull  in  The  New  York  World  by  Mr.  W.  H. 
H.  Murray,  formerly  a  popular  clergyman,  but  best 
known  as  a  writer  and  commonly  called  "  Adiron 
dack  "  Murray.  He  spoke  for  the  myriads  who  saw 
in  Sitting  Bull  a  sacrifice  to  injustice.  Perhaps  he 
was  extreme  in  his  expressions,  but  not  more  so 
than  those  who  think  the  only  good  Indian  the  dead 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  195 

one.  Mr.  Murray  said  :  "  The  land  grabbers  wanted 
the  Indian  lands.  The  lying,  thieving  Indian  agents 
wanted  silence  touching  past  thefts  and  immunity  to 
continue  their  thieving.  The  renegades  from  their 
people  among  the  Indian  police  wanted  an  oppor 
tunity  to  show  their  power  over  a  man  who  despised 
them  as  renegades,  and  whom,  therefore,  they  hated. 
The  public  opinion  of  the  frontier — the  outgrowth  of 
ignorance,  credulity  and  selfish  greed — more  than 
assented  to  a  plan  to  rid  the  country  of  one  who 
while  he  lived,  so  great  was  he  in  fame  and  in  fact, 
must  forever  stand  as  a  reminder  of  wars  passed 
and  a  threat  of  war  to  come.  Out  of  all  these  and 
other  causes  peculiar  to  the  condition  of  things  there 
localized,  some  accidental  and  deplorable,  others 
permanent  and  infamous,  was  born,  as  Milton's 
Death  was  born,  from  Satan  and  Sin,  the  plot  to  kill 
him. 

AND  SO  HE  WAS  MURDERED. 

"  I  knew  this  man  ;  knew  him  in  relation  to  his 
high  office  among  his  people  and  in  his  elements  as 
a  man.  As  to  his  office  or  rank  I  honored  him.  He 
filled  a  station  older  than  human  records,  as  a  man 
1  admired  him.  He  represented  in  person,  in  man 
ners,  in  mind  and  in  the  heroism  of  his  spirit  the 
highest  type  of  a  race  which  in  many  and  rare  vir 
tues  stands  peer  among  the  noblest  races  of  the 
world.  As  to  his  rank  or  official  station,  we  whites 
called  him  Medicine  Man.  It  is  a  name  that  does 
not  name.  It  is  and  has  been  from  the  beginning  of 


1 96  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

our  intercourse  with  the  red  race  a  delusion  and  the 
source  of  delusions  among  even  the  scholarly. 

"  This  man  Sitting  Bull  was  a  prophet,  not  war 
chief,  to  his  people.  The  seer,  in  the  line  of  seers 
of  a  race,  beside  which,  as  to  antiquity,  the  Jews  are 
but  mushrooms,  What  was  a  misnomer,  a  joke,  a 
term  of  contempt  to  us  in  our  ignorance  of  fact  and 
ancient  things,  to  the  red  men — for  the  term  Indian 
as  applied  to  them  is  also  a  misnomer'  and  a  proof 
of  fourteenth-century  ignorance — was  a  rank  above 
all  ranks  won  or  bestowed  by  the  tribe  ;  an  office 
above  all  earthly  offices,  connected  with  and  sym 
bolic  of  the  highest  truths  and  deepest  mysteries  oi 
their  religion. 

"  Hence,  by  virtue  of  his  office  old  as  custom  and 
tradition,  this  man,  Sitting  Bull,  was  counsellor  of 
chiefs,  the  Warwick  behind  the  throne  stronger  than 
the  throne,  the  oracle  of  mysteries  and  of  knowl 
edge  hidden  from  the  mass  ;  hidden  even  from 
chiefs,  to  whose  words  of  advice  and  authority  all 
listened  as  to  the  last  and  highest  expression  of 
wisdom. 

"  Such  was  Sitting  Bull  as  to  his  office,  as  inter 
preted  and  understood  from  a  standpoint  of  knowl 
edge  of  the  religion,  the  traditions  and  the  supersti- 

FAITHFUL  TO  HIS  OFFICE. 

tion  of  his  people.  That  he  was,  faithful  to  his  high 
office  all  knew.  He  was  in  fact,  Counsellor  of 
Chiefs,  that  as  Joshua  did  to  Moses,  so  he  in 
hour  of  battle  upheld  their  arms  till  the  sun  went 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  197 

down  and  the  battle  was  lost  or  won,  let  all  who 
fought  his  tribe  declare  :  that  the  gods  of  his  race 
found  in  him  a  high  priest  faithful  to  his  trust  none 
may  ever  deny.  He  lived  and  he  has  died,  a  red 
man  true  to  his  office  and  his  race.  That  leaf  oi 
laurel  none  can  deny  to  his  fame — not  even  his  ren 
egade  murderers. 

"  But  no  office,  however  great,  is  as  great  as  the 
man  if  he  fills  it  greatly,  and  this  man  Sitting  Bull 
was  greater  as  a  man  than  he  was  even  as  a  proph 
et.  I  met  him  often  ;  I  studied  him  closely  as  one 
of  intelligence  studies  the  type  of  a  race — I  may  add 
of  a  departing  race — and  I  knew  him  well.  And 
this  I  say  of  him  :  He  was  a  Sioux  of  the  Sioux,  a 
red  man  of  the  red  men.  In  him  his  race,  in  physi 
que,  in  manners,  in  virtues,  in  faults,  stood  incar 
nate.  In  face  he  was  the  only  man  I  ever  saw  who 
resembled  Gladstone — large  featured,  thoughtfully 
grave,  reflective,  reposeful  when  unexcited.  In 
wrath  his  countenance  was  a  collection  of  unex- 
ploded  or  exploding  thunder — the  awful  embodi 
ment  of  measureless  passion  and  power. 

"  In  conversation  he  was  deliberate,  the  user  of 
few  words,  but  suave  and  low  voiced.  In  moments 
of  social  relaxation  he  was  companionable,  receptive 

GENTLE  IN  HIS  HOME. 

of  humor,  a  genial  host,  a  pleasant  guest.  In  his 
family  gentle,  affectionate  and  not  opposed  to  mer 
riment.  When  sitting  in  council  his  deportment  was 
a  model  ;  grave,  deliberate,  courteous  to  opponents, 


LIFE  OF  SITTING  MULL 

patient  and  kindly  to   men   of  lesser  mind.     I  sug 
gest  that  our  Senators  copy  after  him. 

"  In  pride  he  was  equal  to  his  rank  and  race,  a 
rank  to  him  level  with  a  Pope's  and  a  race  the  oldest 
and  bravest  in  the  world.  Of  vanity  I  never  saw 
one  trace  in  him,  I  would  couple  the  word  with 
Gladstone  or  Webster  as  quickly  as  with  him.  He 
was  never  over-dressed.  He  wore  the  insignia  of 
his  office  as  a  king  his  robes  or  a  judge  his  gown. 
In  eating  he  was  temperate  ;  from  spirituous  drinks 
an  abstainer.  His  word  once  given  was  a  true  bond. 
He  was  a  born  diplomat,  No  foe  ever  fathomed  his 
thought.  I  have  watched  him  by  the  hour  when  I 
knew  his.  heart  was  hot  with  wrath,  but  neither  from 
eye  nor  lip  nor  cheek  nor  nostril  nor  sinewy  hand 
might  one  get  hint  of  the  storm  raging  within. 
There  was  no  surface  to  him.  He  was  the  embodi 
ment  of  depths. 

"Was  he  eloquent?  What  is  eloquence?  Who 
may  say — who  may  agree  as  to  it  ?  Men  tell  me 
that  Mr.  Depew  is  eloquent,  and  that  New  Yorkers 
go  wild  with  the  glasses  in  front  of  them  when  their 
Mr.  Choate  is  speaking.  I  have  read  their  words. 
Their  eloquence  is  not  that  of  the  great  Sioux 
Prophet.  Here  are  some  words  of  his.  You  can 
compare  them  with  your  orators'  best: 

INDIAN  ELOQUENCE. 

" '  You  tell  me  of  the  Mohawks.  My  fathers  knew 
them.  They  demanded  tribute  of  them.  The  Sioux 
laughed.  They  went  to  meet  .them  :  ten  thousand 


DEATH  OF  SITTING  BULL. 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  2OI 

horsemen.  The  Mohawks  saw  them  coming,  made 
them  a  feast  and  returned  home !  You  tell  me  of 
the  Abenaznis.  They  are  our  forefathers  and  the 
forefathers  of  all  red  men.  They  were  the  men  of 
the  Dawn.  They  came  from  the  East.  They  were 
Lorn  in  the  morning  of  the  world.  The  traditions 

o 

of  my  people  are  full  of  the  Abenaznis.  They  rocked 
the  cradles  of  our  race.' 

"  And  again : 

'*  What  treaty  that  the  whites  have  kept  has  the 
red  man  broken  ?  Not  one.  What  treaty  that  the 
whites  ever  made  with  us  red  men  have  they  kept? 
Not  one.  When  I  was  a  boy  the  Sioux  owned  the 
world.  The  sun  rose  and  set  in  their  lands.  They 
sent  10,000  horsemen  to  battle.  Where  are  the 
warriors  to-day?  Who  sleV  them?  Where  are 
our  lands  ?  Who  owns  them  ?  What  white  man 
can  say  I  ever  stole  his  lands  or  a  penny  of  his 
money  ?  Yet  they  say  I  am  a  thief.  What  white 
woman,  however  lonely,  was  ever  when  a  captive 
insulted  by  me  ?  Yet  they  say  I  am  a  bad  Indian. 
What  white  man  has  ever  seen  me  drunk?  Who 
has  ever  come  to  me  hungry  and  gone  unfed  ?  Who 
has  ever  seen  me  beat  my  wives  or  abuse  my  chil 
dren  ?  What  law  have  I  broken  ?  Is  it  wrong  for 
me  to  love  my  own  ?  Is  it  wicked  in  me  because  my 
skin  is  red  ;  because  I  am  a  Sioux ;  because  I  was 
born  where  my  fathers  lived  ;  because  I  would  die 
for  my  people  and  my  country  ?' 

"  And  again  : 


2Q2  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

"They  tell  you  I  murdered  Custer.  It  is  a  lie.  I 
am  not  a  war  chief.  I  was  not  in  the  battle  that 
day.  His  eyes  were  blinded  that  he  could  not  see. 
He  was  a  fool  and  he  rode  to  his  death.  He  made 
the  fight,  not  I.  Whoever  tells  you  I  killed  the  Yel 
low  Hair  is  a  liar.' 

DO  WE  LOVE  JUSTICE? 

"  But  why  tell  more  of  this  man  ?  Does  this  gen 
eration  love  justice  enough  to  ask  that  it  be  shown 
to  the  red  men  ?  Have  we  not  as  a  people  fixed 
the  brutal  maxim  in  our  language,  'That  the  only 
good  Indian  is  a  dead  Indian  ?'  We  laugh  at  the 
saying  now  as  a  good  jest,  but  the  cheeks  of  our 
descendants  will  redden  with  shame  when  they  read 
the  coarse  brutality  of  our  wit.  I  read  that  the 
great  Sioux  was  dead,  'that  he  was  set  upon  in  the 
midst  of  his  family,  with  his  wives  and  children  and 
relatives  around  him,  that  he  had  committed  no  overt 
act  of  war  ;  that  he  was  simply — so  far  as  aught  is 
known — moving  himself,  his  kith  and  kin  from  the 
midst  of  cold,  hunger  and  peril,  and  that  while  doing 
this,  a  company  of  Indians — yclept  Indian  police — 
many  of  them  despised  renegades  from  his  owrf  tribe 
and  enemies  of  his  under  cover  of  the  United  States 
flag  and  backed  by  a  company  of  United  States 
cavalry — placed  suspiciously  handy  to  see  that  the 
renegades  from  his  tribe  should  not  fail  in  killing 
him — they  went  to  kill — had  killed  him,  and  I  said — 
understanding  the  conditions  and  circumstances  bet 
ter  than  some — I  said  :  *  That  is  murder.'  And  then 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  2 03 

I  read  in  a  great  journal  that  *  everybody  is  well  sat 
isfied  with  his  death.'  And  I  cried  out  against  the 
saying  as  I  had  against  the  deed. 

"  I  read  that  they  have  buried  his  body  like  a  dog's 
— without  funeral  rites,  without  tribal  wail,  with  no 
solemn  song  or  act.  That  is  the  deed  of  to-day. 
That  is  the  best  that  this  generation  has  to  give  to 
this  noble  historic  character,  this  man  who  in  his 
person  ends  the  line  of  aboriginal  sanctities  older 
than  the  religion  of  Christian  or  Jew.  Very  well. 
So  let  it  stand  for  the  present.  But  there  is  a  gen 
eration  coming  that  shall  reverse  this  judgment  of 

RECORD  OF  HISTORY. 

ours.  Our  children  shall  build  monuments  to  those 
whom  we  stoned,  and  the  great  aboriginals  whom 
we  killed  will  be  counted  by  the  future  American  as 
among  the  historic  characters  of  the  Continent 
Moreover,  I  ask  The  World  to  send  out  through  all 
the  land  this  request  of  mine  that  the  spot  where 
this  great  character  was  buried — buried  like  a  dog 
— be  carefully  marked — marked  beyond  questioning 
or  doubt,  for  as  the  Lord  liveth  and  my  soul  liveth 
a  monument  shall  be  builded  on  that  spot  before 
many  years — if  I  live — inscribed  to  the  memory  of 
the  last  great  Prophet  of  the  Sioux,  and  of  the  noble 
characteristics  of  the  red  race,  whose  virtues,  like 
his  own,  were  many,  and  whose  fate  was  pathetic." 


CHAPTER 


THE    SIOUX   NATION. 

MIGHTIEST  OF  ALL  THE  NATIVE  TRIBES  —  LONGFELLOW'S  "MINNEHAHA'* 
—  SUBDIVISIONS  OF  THE  TRIBE  —  CATLIN'S  ACCOUNT  OF  THEM  HALF 
A  CENTURY  AGO  —  NOT  DRUNKEN,  NOR  NAKED,  NOR  POOR  —  A  MORE 
RECENT  AND  LESS  FRIENDLY  VIEW. 

The  aboriginal  inhabitants  ot  the  territory  now 
comprised  within  the  United  States  were  divided 
into  various  nations,  which  might  almost  be  called 
races,  so  widely  did  they  differ  from  each  other  in 
physical  and  intellectual  characteristics.  The  early 
settlers  from  Europe  came  into  contact  with  the 
Iroquois  and  Algonquins  and  their  numerous  sub- 
tribes  in  the  North,  and  with  the  Choctaws,  Creeks, 
and  Seminoles  in  the  South.  But  in  later  years, 
pushing  westward,  the  new  masters  of  the  land  be 
came  aware  of  the  existence  of  another  still  more 
numerous  and  powerful  Indian  nation,  occupying 
the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi  River  and  north 
of  the  Arkansas.  These  Indians  were  known  in 
their  own  tongue  as  La-ko-tas,  which  the  whites 
soon  transformed  into  Dakotas.  By  their  tradi 
tional  enemies,  the  Chippewas,  greatest  of  the 
204 


AND   THE   INDIAN   WAR.  2O$ 

Algonquin  tribes  and  the  only  Indians  able  to 
contend  with  them  in  war,  they  were  contemptu 
ously  called  Nadowessioux,  which  name  the  whites 
abbreviated  into  Sioux.  Longfellow,  in  his  immor 
tal  "Song  of  Hiawatha,"  makes  his  heroine,  the 
beauteous  Minri^haha,  a  Sioux,  whom  Hiawatha 
found  and  wooed  and  won 

"  In  the  land  of  the  Dakotas, 
Where  the  Falls  of  Minnehaha 
Flash  and  gleam  among  the  oak-trees, 
Leap  and  laugh  into  the  valley." 

The  Sioux  also  call  themselves  Oceti  Sakowin,  or 
the  Seven  Council  Fires;  having  a  tradition  that 
they  once  all  belonged  to  one  council,  but  after 
ward,  through  intestine  strife,  separated  into  seven. 
These  seven  councils  or  tribes  are  as  follows:  i.  The 
Inde-wa-kan-ton-wan,  or  Village  of  the  Holy  Lake  ; 
2,  the  Wah-pe-ku-te,  or  Leaf  Shooters  ;  3,  the  Wah- 
pe-ton-wan,  or  Village  in  the  Leaves,  commonly 
known  as  the  Wahpeton  Sioux ;  4,  the  Sis-se-ton- 
wan,  or  Village  in  the  Marsh,  called  the  Sisseton 
Sioux ;  5,  the  I-hank-ton-wan-na,  or  Upper  End  Vil 
lage,  known  as  the  Upper  Yanktonnais;  6,  the  I 
hank  ton-wan,  or  End  Village,  known  as  the  Lower 
Yanktonnais ;  and,  7,  the  Te-ton-wan,  or  Prairie  Vil 
lage,  best  known  as  the  Teton  Sioux.  The  first  four 
of  these  tribes  are  called  I-san-ti,  or  Santee. 

THE  TETONS. 

At  the  present  time  we  have  most  to  do,  how- 


200  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

ever,  with  the  last  and  greatest  of  the  Seven  Coun 
cils,  namely,  the  Tetons.  This  tribe  is  subdivided 
into  seven  great  families,  known  as  (i)  the  Si-can- 
gu,  Brule,  or  Burnt  Thighs ;  (2)  the  I-taz-ip-co,  Sans 
Arcs,  or  No  Bows;  (3)  the  Si-ha-sa-pa,  or  Blackfeet; 
(4)  the  Mi-ni-kan-ye,  or  Those  Who  Plant  by  the 
Water;  (5)  the  Oo-hen-on-pa,  or  Two  Kettles;  (6) 
the  O-gal-lal-las,  or  Wanderers  in  the  Mountains; 
and  (7)  the  Unk-pa-pas,  or  Those  Who  Dwell  by 
Themselves.  It  was  to  this  last  that  Sitting  Bull 
belonged — an  Unk-pa-pa,  Teton,  Sioux.  The  origi 
nal  home  of  the  four  Santee  tribes  was  in  Minnesota 
and  Eastern  Dakota ;  that  of  the  Yanktonnais,  east 
of  the  Missouri,  from  Sioux  City  to  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad ;  and  that  of  the  Tetons,  from  the 
Missouri  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  north  of  the 
Platte  River. 

The  early  history  of  the  Sioux  is  little  known. 
They  were  always  a  notably  brave  and  warlike  race, 
possessed  of  magnificent  physique.  They  were 
seldom  attacked  by  other  Indians,  save  by  the 
famous  Chippewas,  who  rivalled  them  in  strength 
and  daring,  and  who  for  many  generations  were 
their  implacable  foes.  Catlin,  writing  some  fifty 
years  ago  from  the  mouth  of  the  Teton  River,  spoke 
as  follows  of  the  Sioux  Nation : 

"  This  tribe  is  one  of  the  most  numerous  in  North 
America,  and  also  one  of  the  most  vigorous  and 
warlike  tribes  to  be  found,  numbering  some  forty  or 
fifty  thousand,  and  able  undoubtedly  to  muster,  if 


AND    THE   INDIAN   WAR.  2O/ 

the  tribe  could  be  moved  simultaneously,  at  least 
eight  or  ten  thousand  warriors,  well  mounted  and 
well  armed.  This  tribe  takes  vast  numbers  of  the 
wild  horses  on  the  plains  toward  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains,  and  many  of  them  have  been  supplied  with 
guns  ;  but  the  greater  part  of  them  hunt  with  their 
bows  and  arrows  and  long  lances,  killing  their  game 
from  their  horses'  backs  while  at  full  speed.  The 

FINE  APPEARANCE. 

personal  appearance  of  these  people  is  very  fine 
and  prepossessing,  their  persons  tall  and  straight, 
and  their  movements  elastic  and  graceful.  Their 
stature  is  considerably  above  that  of  the  Mandans 
and  Riccarees,  or  Blackfeet ;  but  about  equal  to  that 
of  the  Crows,  Assinneboins,  and  Minatarees,  fur 
nishing  at  least  one-half  of  their  warriors  of  six  feet 
or  more  in  height.  The  great  family  of  Sioux,  who 
occupy  so  vast  a  tract  of  country,  extending  from 
the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  River  to  the  base  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  are  everywhere  a  migratory  or 
roaming  tribe,  divided  into  forty-two  bands  or  fami 
lies,  each  having  a  chief,  who  all  acknowledge  a  su 
perior  or  head  chief,  to  whom  they  all  are  held  sub 
ordinate. 

"  There  is   no  tribe  on  the  continent,  perhaps,  of 

HANDSOME  HUNTERS. 

finer  looking  men  than  the  Sioux ;  and  few  tribes 
who  are  better  or  more  comfortably  clad,  and  sup 
plied  with  the  necessaries  of  life.  There  are  no 
parts  of  the  great  plains  of  America  which  are  more 


2O8  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

abundantly  stocked  with  buffaloes  and  wild  horses, 
nor  any  people  more  bold  in  destroying  the  one  for 
food,  and  appropriating  the  other  to  their  use. 
There  has  gone  abroad,  from  the  many  histories 
which  have  been  written  of  these  people,  an  opinion 
which  is  too  current  in  the  world  that  the  Indian  is 
necessarily  a  poor,  drunken,  murderous  wretch; 
which  account  is  certainly  unjust  as  regards  the  sav 
age,  and  doing  less  than  justice  to  the  world  for 
whom  such  histories  have  been  prepared.  I  have 
traveled  several  years  already  amongst  these  people 
and  I  have  not  had  my  scalp  taken,  nor  a  blow  struck 
at  me;  nor  had  occasion  to  raise  my  hand  against  an 
Indian ;  nor  has  my  property  been  stolen  as  yet,  to 
my  knowledge,  to  the  value  oi  a  shilling ;  and  that 
in  a  country  where  no  man  is  punishable  by  law  for 

WHITE  MEN  STEAL. 

the  crime  of  stealing ;  still  some  of  them  steal,  and 
murcler  too ;  and  if  white  men  did  not  do  the  same, 
and  that  in  defiance  of  the  laws  of  God  and  man,  I 
might  take  satisfaction  in  stigmatizing  the  Indian 
character  as  thievish  and  murderous.  That  the  In 
dians  in  their  native  state  are  drunken  is  false ;  for 
they  are  the  only  temperance  people,  literally  speak 
ing,  that  ever  I  saw  In  my  travels,  or  ever  expect  to 
see.  If  the  civilized  world  are  startled  at  this,  it  is 
the  fact  that  they  must  battle  with,  not  with  me ;  for 
these  people  manufacture  no  spirituous  liquors  them 
selves,  and  know  nothing  of  it  until  it  is  brought 
into  their  country  and  tendered  to  them  by  Chris- 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR. 

tians.  That  the  people  are  naked  is  equally  untrue, 
and  is  easily  disproved ;  for  I  am  sure  that  with  the 
paintings  I  have  made  amongst  the  Mandans  and 
Crows,  and  other  tribes ;  and  with  their  beautiful 
costumes,  which  I  have  procured  and  shall  bring 
home,  I  shall  be  able  to  establish  the  fact  that  many 
of  these  people  dress,  not  only  with  clothes  com 
fortable  for  any  latitude,  but  that  they  also  dress 
with  some  considerable  taste  and  elegance.  Nor 
am  I  quite  sure  that  they  are  entitled  to  the  name 
of  poor,  who  live  in  a  boundless  country  of  green 
fields,  with  good  horses  to  ride ;  where  they  are  all 
joint  tenants  of  the  soil,  together  ;  where  the  Great 
Spirit  has  supplied  them  with  an  abundance  of  food 
to  eat — where  they  are  all  indulging  in  the  pleasures 
and  amusements  of  a  lifetime  of  idleness  and  ease, 
with  no  business  hours  to  attend  to,  or  professions 

NO  DEBTS  TO  PAY. 

to  learn — where  they  have  no  notes  in  bank  or  other 
debts  to  pay — no  taxes,  no  tithes,  no  rents,  nor  beg 
gars  to  touch  and  tax  the  sympathy  of  their  souls  at 
every  step  they  go." 

Such  was  the  account  of  the  Sioux  given  by  this 
accomplished  and  impartial  observer,  half  a  century 
ago.  Let  us  quote  by  way  of  contrast  the  words  ot 
a  recent  writer  who  was  imbued  with  ineradicable 
hatred  of  all  red  men: 

"Of  all  the  Indians  on  the  continent  the  northern 
Sioux  are  the  finest  men,  the  best  hunters,  and  the 
fiercest  warriors.  They  have  never  confined  them- 


2IO  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

selves  to  the  agencies,  and  they  hated  the  other  In 
dians  who  did.  Their  principal  chief,  Sitting  Bull, 
would  never  treat  honestly  with  the  government, 
and  used  all  his  ability  to  prevent  the  other  tribes 
from  doing  so.  From  the  beginning  they  have  been 

CONTEMPT  OF  THE  W1I11ES. 

hostile  to  the  whites,  and  have  rejected  with  con 
tempt  all  the  overtures  of  the  Peace  Commission  to 
submit  themselves  to  their  policy.  For  fifteen  years 
they  have  made  constant  cruel  war  upon  the  whites, 
murdering  them  by  wholesale  in  Iowa  and  Minne 
sota,  previous  to  crossing  the  Missouri.  After  that 
time,  and  since  1865,  they  have  been  the  terror  of 
the  frontier.  Under  the  command  of  Sitting  Bull 
and  Crazy  Horse,  they  have  been  constantly  em 
ployed  attacking  emigrant  trains  on  the  plains  and 
boats  on  the  river,  fighting  soldiers  and  harassing 
the  forts  and  stations.  Not  content  with  making 
war  on  the  whites,  the  Sioux  also  regarded  all  In 
dians  friendly  to  the  whites  as  their  enemies,  and 
attacked  their  villages,  slew  their  warriors,  and  car 
ried  off  their  women  and  children  whenever  they 
got  a  chance.  With  the  booty  obtained  by  killing 
and  robbing  miners  and  emigrants,  they  purchased 
arms  and  ammunition  of  the  white  and  half-breed 
traders,  until,  with  what  they  captured,  they  are  now 

WELL  EQUIPPED. 

armed  with  the  best  weapons  and  abundantly  sup 
plied  with  ammunition.  Their  number  was  origi 
nally  about  7,000,  and,  although  some  were  induced 


AND  THE  IXDIAN  WAR.  211 

to  go  into  the  agencies,  that  number  is  probably  still 
kept  up  by  the  additions  to  the  band  from  other 
tribes  ;  for  all  dissatisfied,  turbulent,  and  unruly  In 
dians,  and  all  who  were  afraid  for  any  cause,  as  the 
commission  of  crime,  to  remain  with  their  own 
tribes,  or,  at  the  agencies,  sought  the  band  of  Sitting 
Bull. 

44  The  Peace  Commission,  failing  to  accomplish 
anything  with  these  Sioux,  desired  to  turn  over  their 
case  for  management  to  the  War  Department,  as  it 
was  necessary  to  reduce  them  to  submission,  lest 
their  example  should  demoralize  all  the  other  In 
dians  and  make  incalculable  trouble.  In  1875  the 
War  Department  assumed  the  control  of  them.  A 
consultation  was  held  in  Washington  between  the 
President,  the  General  of  the  Army,  the  Secretary 
of  War  and  Gen.  Crook  in  regard  to  what  was 
the  best  course  to  pursue,  and  it  was  resolved  to 
send  an  expedition  against  them.  It  was  in  pursu 
ance  of  this  resolution  that  the  Custer  expedition 
was  organized. 

"  The  bloody  career  of  Sitting  Bull  shows  him  to 
be  a  bold  and  skillful  warrior,  and  the  relentless  foe 

INVINCIBLE. 

of  the  whites.  He  refuses  to  believe  he  can  be 
beaten,  and  declares  that  if  all  the  Indians  would 
unite  under  him  he  would  be  able  to  drive  the 
whites  back  into  the  sea  whence  they  came.  The 
result  of  Custer's  expedition  will,  of  course, 
strengthen  this  belief,  and  will  also  give  Sitting 


212  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

Bull  great  prestige  and  influence  with  the  Indians. 
He  will  be  regarded  as  a  great  warrior,  and  his 
glory  will  be  all  the  more  splendid  on  account  of  the 
respect  and  dread  felt  by  the  Indians  for  Crook, 
whom  he  defeated,  and  Ouster,  whom  he  slew  with 
all  his  command. 

"  Still,  it  is  not  possible  to  doubt*  what  the  end 
will  be.  The  war  may  be  prolonged  and  many 
brave  lives  lost  before  Sitting  Bull  is  slain  and  his 
tribe  dispersed  ;  but  the  power  of  the  United  States 
cannot  be  resisted  and  will  prevail.  Sitting  Bull 
will  either  meet  the  fate  of  Capt.  Jack  or  die  in  bat 
tle,  and  the  sanguinary  Sioux  will  scatter  and  be 
lost  to  history.  It  is  not  likely  their  fate  will  excite 
much  sympathy.  They  were  the  Ishmaelites  of  the 
plains,  and  their  hands  were  turned  against  Indians 
and  whites  alike.  To  murder,  to  commit  nameless 
crimes  without  pity  or  compunction,  to  burn  and 
steal,  was  the  habit  of  their  lives.  When  they  perish 
they  will  not  be  regretted." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

LEGENDS     AND    CREEDS. 

THE  INDIAN  HOLY  LAND,  THE  MOUNTAINS  OF  THE  PRAIRIKS — THE  Sioux 
STORY  OF  THE  FLOOD— ORIGIN  OF  THE  RED  PIPE  STONE — INDIAN 
LOVE  OF  THE  MYSTERIOUS — THEIR  IDEAS  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE — 
THEIR  CODE  OF  WORLDLY  ETHICS  VINDICATED. 

The  Holy  Land  of  the  Indians  is  the  Coteau  du 
Prairie,  the  Mountain  of  the  Prairie,  the  Red  Pipe 
Stone  country.  Longfellow  pictures  the  Great 
Spirit  descending  and  appearing  to  the  tribes  at  that 
place  : 

"  On  the  Mountains  of  the  Prairie, 
On  the  great  Red  Pipe  Stone  Quarry, 
Gitche  Manito,  the  mighty, 
He,  the  Master  of  Life,  descending, 
On  the  red  crags  of  the  quarry 
Stood  erect,  and  called  the  nations, 
Called  the  tribes  of  men  together." 

Accordingly  there  was  a  gathering  of  all  the 
Indian  tribes : 

"  Down  the  rivers,  o'er  the  prairies, 
Came  the  warriors  of  the  nations, 
Came  the  Delaware*  and  Mohawks, 
Came  the  Choctaws  and  Comanches, 
Came  the  Shoshonies  and  Black fe 
Came  the  Pawnees  and  Omahas, 

213 


214  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

Came  the  Mandans  and  Dakotas, 
Came  the  Hurons  and  Ojibways, 
All  the  warriors  drawn  together 
By  the  signal  of  the  peace-pipe, 
To  the  Mountains  of  the  Prairie, 
To  the  great  Red  Pipe  Stone  Quarry." 

As  they  stand  there,  glaring  at  each  other  with 
ancestral  hatred,  Gitche  Manito  addresses  them, 
bids  .them  lay  aside  their  feuds,  and  promises  to 
send  them  Hiawatha,  the  Teacher.  This  sacred 
region  was  long  recognized  as  common  ground,  be 
longing  to  all  Indians,  where  all  must  meet  in  peace 
and  fellowship.  But  it  lay  within  the  country  of 
the  Dakotas,  or  Sioux,  and  those  mighty  warriors 
eventually  drove  qut  and  shut  out  all  rival  tribes, 
and  made  the  Mountain  of  the  Prairies  their  own 
exclusively.  Around  this  legendary  spot  linger 
many  traditions,  and  much  of  the  religious  lore  of 
these  people.  Here  is  one  legend  which  was  told 
to  Catlin  by  a  Dakota  chief: 

"  In  the  time  of  the  great  freshet,  which  took 
place  many  centuries  ago,  and  destroyed  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  all  the  tribes  of  the  red  men 
assembled  on  the  Coteau  du  Prairie  to  get  out  of 
the  way  of  the  waters.  After  they  had  all  gathered 
here  from  all  parts,  the  water  continued  to  rise, 
until  at  length  it  covered  them  all  in  a  mass,  and 
their  flesh  was  converted  into  red  pipe  stone. 
Therefore  it  has  always  been  considered  neutral 
ground — it  belonged  to  all  tribes  alike,  and  all  were 
allowed  to  get  it  and  smoke  it  together. 


AND    THE   INDIAN   WAR.  215 

"  While  they  were  all  drowning  in  a  mass,  a  young 
woman,  K-wap-tah  w  (a  virgin),  caught  hold  of  the 
foot  of  a  very  large  bird  that  was  flying  over,  and 
was  carried  to  the  top  of  a  high  cliff,  not  far  off,  that 
was  above  the  water.  Here  she  had  twins,  and 
their  father  was  the  war-eagle,  and  her  children  have 
since  peopled  the  earth. 

"  The  pipe  stone,  which  is  the  flesh  of  their  ances 
tors,  is  smoked  by  them  as  the  symbol  of  peace,  and 
the  eagle's  quill  decorates  the  head  of  the  brave." 

Here  is  another  tradition  of  the  Sioux: 

ORIGIN  OF  MAN. 

"  Before  the  creation  of  man  the  Great  Spirit 
(whose  tracks  are  yet  to  be  seen  on  the  stones,  at 
the  Red  Pipe,  in  form  of  the  tracks  of  a  large  bird) 
used  to  slay  the  buffaloes  and  eat  them  on  the  ledge 
of  the  Red  Rocks,  on  the  top  of  the  Coteau  des 
Prairies,  and  their  blood  running  on  to  the  rocks 
turned  them  red.  One  day  when  a  large  snake  had 
crawled  into  the  nest  of  the  bird  to  eat  his  eggs, 
one  of  the  eggs  hatched  out  in  a  clap  of  thunder, 
and  the  Great  Spirit,  catching  hold  of  a  piece  of 
the  pipe  stone  to  throw  at  the  snake,  molded  it 
into  a  man.  This  man's  feet  grew  fast  in  the 
ground  where  he  stood  for  many  ages  like  a  great 
tree,  and,  therefore,  he  grew  very  old.  He  was 
older  than  a  hundred  men  at  the  present  day,  and 
at  last  another  tree  grew  up  by  the  side  of  him, 
when  a  large  snake  ate  them  both  off  at  the  roots, 
and  they  wandered  off  together.  From  these  have 
sprung  all  the  people  that  now  inhabit  the  earth/" 


2i6  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

Amongst  the  Sioux  of  the  Mississippi,  who  live 
in  the  region  of  the  Red  Pipe  Stone  Quarry,  Catlin 
found  the  following  not  less  strange  tradition  on  the^ 
same  subject: 

ANOTHER  TRADITION. 

"  Many  ages  after  the  red  men  were  made,  when 
all  the  different  tribes  were  at  war,  the  Great  Spirit 
sent  runners  and  called  them  all  together  at  the 
'  Red  Pipe/  He  stood  on  the  top  of  the  rocks,  and 
the  red  people  were  assembled  in  infinite  numbers 
on  the  plains  below.  He  took  out  of  the  rock  a 
piece  of  the  red  stone  and  made  a  large  pipe.  He 
smoked  it  over  them  all ;  told  them  that  it  was  part 
of  their  flesh  ;  that,  though  they  were  at  war,  they 
must  meet  at  this  place  as  friends  ;  that  it  belonged 
to  them  all ;  that  they  must  make  their  calumets 
from  it  and  smoke  them  to  him  whenever  they 
wished  to  appease  him  or  get  his  good  will.  The 
smoke  from  his  big  pipe  rolled  over  them  all,  and 
he  disappeared  in  its  cloud.  At  the  last  whiff  of  his 
pipe  a  blaze  of  fire  rolled  over  the  rocks  and  melted 
their  surface.  At  that  moment  two  squaws  went  in 
a  blaze  of  fire  under  the  two  medicine  rocks,  where 
they  remain  to  this  day,  and  must  be  consulted  and 
propitiated  whenever  the  pipe  stone  is  to  be  taken 
away."  This  is  the  legend  which  forms  a  part  of  the 
basis  of  "  Hiawatha." 

LOVE  OF  LEGENDS. 

A  love  of  legends  and  of  mysteries  is  character 
istic  of  all  Indians,  and  particularly  of  the  Sioux. 
This  trait  comprises  equally  their  admiration  of  the 


STANDING   HOLLY.— Daughter  of  Sitting  BuIL 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR.  219 

thunder-storm  and  their  childish  wonder  and  awe  at 
petty  tricks  of  legerdemain.  Says  Capt.  Bourke, 
U.  S.  A.,  a  high  authority  on  the  subject: 

"  The  Indians  are  very  superstitious.  They  be 
lieve  in  the  supernatural,  and  an  adroit  sleight-of- 
hand  performer  can  have  a  great  influence  over 
them.  One  way  to  beat  them  is  to  fight  them  with 
their  own  fire  by  sending  first-class  American  jug 
glers  out  to  them.  When  the  medicine  men  of 
their  tribe  do  their  wonders,  let  these  jugglers  per 
form  their  tricks,  and  the  power  of  the  medicine 
men  will  wane.  This  was  the  method  I  pursued  in 
my  work  with  them.  I  never  discredited  the  power 
of  any  of  the  medicine  men.  I  only  told  them  that 
my  medicine  was  better  than  their  medicine,  and 
that  I  could  do  a  great  deal  more  than  they  could. 

ELECTRIC  PUZZLE. 

N I  had  once  an  old  electric  battery  with  me  when 
I  visited  a  big  camp  of  these  Sioux.  There  was 
some  excitement  at  the  time,  and  the  medicine  men 
were  boasting  what  they  could  do.  I  arranged  my 
battery,  and  took  a  silver  dollar  and  placed  it  in  a 
pan  of  water,  and  told  their  best  medicine  men  that 
I  would  give  the  one  who  could  pull  it  out  five  dol 
lars,  provided  he  took  hold  of  the  brass  handle  of 
the  batterv  with  one  hand  and  picked  the  coin  out 
with  the  other. 

"  There  were,  perhaps,  one  thousand  Indians  look 
ing  at  us,  and  they  conceived  a  deep  reverence  for 
me,  as  they  had  seen  the  most  famous  of  their 


22O  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

medicine  men  attempt  to  do  this  and  fail,  being 
almost  thrown  into  convulsions  in  the  attempt.  At 
last  one  of  the  strongest  Indians  in  the  West  came 

BROKE  THE  MACHINE. 

up  to  make  the  trial.  He  seized  the  battery  and 
made  a  grab  for  the  dollar.  The  electricity  went 
through  him  like  a  shot,  and  he  kicked  the  battery 
all  to  pieces.  He  wanted  to  try  it  again  and  we 
patched  the  battery  up,  and  he  finally  succeeded  in 
getting  the  dollar,  owing  to  the  weakness  of  the 
broken  battery.  He  was  twisted  out  of  shape 
almost  by  the  effort,  and  the  Indians  of  that  camp 
looked  upon  me  for  the  time  as  a  great  medicine 
man. 

"At  another  time  I  was  at  a  sun-dance  of  one  of 
the  Sioux  Indian  tribes,  and  an  American  juggler, 
who  was  quite  a  sleight-of-hand  performer,  begged 
to  be  allowed  to  go  along  with  me.  I  thought  he 
might  do  some  good  and  took  him.  I  shall  not 
forget  how  he  astonished  the  Indians. 

"  He  went  up  to  one  of  the  chiefs,  and  without 
a  warning  gave  him  a  slap  on  the  cheek,  nearly 
knocking  him  over.  Then  with  his  other  hand  he 
got  hold  of  the  other  cheek  and  apparently  pulled 
a  twenty-dollar  gold  piece  out  of  it,  while  the  rest  | 
of  the  Indians  looked  on  with  open-mouthed  won- 

A  CUTE  TRICK. 

der.  He  went  up  to  another  chief,  who  rejoiced  in 
the  title  of  Little  Big  Man,  and  grabbing  him  by 
the  nose  pulled  a  twenty-dollar  gold  piece  out  of 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  221 

his  nose,  much  to  the  chiefs  surprise.  I  saw  him  a 
number  of  times  afterward,  and  when  he  thought  I 
was  not  looking  would  pull  his  blanket  up  over  his 
nose  and  feel  the  end  of  it  to  see  if  there  were  not 
some  more  twenty-dollar  gold  pieces  where  the 
other  one  had  come  from. 

"  I  remember  another  medicine  man,  a  big  Apache, 
who  called  upon  me  in  the  surgeon's  office  of  one 
of  the  stations.  I  was  very  anxious  to  see  his  medi 
cine  charm,  which  he  carried  carefully  concealed 
under  his  shirt,  and  which  not  even  the  other  In 
dians  ever  saw.  I  told  him  I  knew  he  was  a  great 
medicine  man,  but  that  I  believed  that  my  medicine 
was  better  than  his  medicine,  and  with  that  I  picked 
up  a  bottle  of  nitric  acid.  It  was  not  much  bigger 
than  your  thumb 

ASTONISHED. 

"  I  said :  *  I  will  put  a  drop  of  this  on  your  tongue 
and  in  one  minute  I  will  burn  a  hole  clear  through 
it'  He  opened  his  eyes,  but  when  I  again  asked 
him  to  stick  out  his  tongue  he  said  he  believed  I 
could  do  it,  and  that  he  would  not  test  my  skill.  I 
then  picked  up  a  bottle  of  chloroform  and  said : 
'  Here  is  more  of  my  medicine.  If  you  smell  this  I 
can  put  you  to  sleep,  and  no  one  can  wake  you  un 
til  I  want  to  wake  you,  and  with  this,'  picking  up 
another  bottle,  *  I  can  strike  you  dead.'  By  this 
time  he  was  thoroughly  scared,  and  he  showed  the 
wonderful  talisman  by  which  he  performed  his  tricks. 

was  a  chamois  bag  covered  with  mysterious  char- 


222  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

acters.  He  wore  it  over  his  chest  and  it  never  left 
him,  night  or  day." 

The  religious  beliefs  of  the  Sioux,  however,  are 
of  a  noble  and  exalted  character,  comparing  favor 
ably  in  their  sublime  simplicity  with  the  great  myths 

A  FUTURE  STATE. 

of  other  races.  Their  ideas  of  a  future  state  have 
been  thus  stated  by  one  of  their  foremost  prophets : 
"  Our  people  all  believe  that  the  spirit  lives  in  a 
future  state — that  it  has  a  great  distance  to  travel 
after  death  toward  the  West — that  it  has  to  cross 
a  dreadful  deep  and  rapid  stream,  which  is  hemmed 
in  on  both  sides  by  high  and  rugged  hills — over  this 
stream,  from  hill  to  hill,  there  lies  a  long  and  slippery 
pine-log,  with  the  bark  peeled  off,  over  which  the 
dead  have  to  pass  to  the  delightful  hunting-grounds. 
On  the  other  side  of  the  stream  there  are  six  per 
sons  of  the  good  hunting-grounds,  with  rocks  in 
their  hands,  which  they  throw  at  them  all  when  they 
are  on  the  middle  of  the  log.  The  good  walk  on 
safely,  to  the  good  hunting-grounds,  where  there  is 
one  continual  day — where  the  trees  are  always 
green — where  the  sky  has  no  clouds — where  there 
are  continual  fine  and  cooling  breezes — where  there 
is  one  continual  scene  of  feasting,  dancing,  and 

ETERNAL  LIFE  AND  HAPPINESS. 

rejoicing — where  there  is  no  pain  or  trouble,  and 
people  never  grow  old,  but  forever  live  young  and 
enjoy  the  youthful  pleasures. 

"  The  wicked  see  the  stones  coming,  and  try  to 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  22$ 

dodge,  by  which  they  fall  from  the  log,  and  go  down 
thousands  of  feet  to  the  water,  which  is  dashing 
over  the  rocks,  and  is  stinking  with  dead  fish  and 
animals,  where  they  are  carried  around  and  brought 
continually  back  to  the  same  place  in  whirlpools — 
where  the  trees  are  all  dead,  and  the  waters  are  full 
of  toads  and  lizards,  and  snakes — where  the  dead 
are  always  hungry,  and  have  nothing  to  eat — are 
always  sick,  and  never  die — where  the  sun  never 
shines,  and  where  the  wicked  are  continually  climb 
ing  up  by  thousands  on  the  sides  of  a  high  rock 
from  which  they  can  overlook  the  beautiful  country 
of  the  good  hunting-grounds,  the  place  of  the  happy; 
but  never  can  reach  it." 

The  worldly  ethics  of  the  Sioux  were  also  inquired 
into  by  Catlin,  who  found  much  to  admire  in  them, 
and  little  to  condemn,  in  comparison  with  the  codes 
of  civilized  people.  On  an  occasion  when  he  had 
interrogated  a  Sioux  chief,  on  the  Upper  Missouri 
about  their  government — their  punishments  and 
tortures  of  prisoners,  for  which- he  had  freely  con 
demned  them  for  the  cruelty  of  the  practice,  the 

INQUIRIES. 

Indian  took  occasion,  when  Catlin  had  got  through, 
to  ask  some  questions  relative  to  modes  in  the  civil 
ized  world,  which,  with  his  comments  upon  them, 
were  nearly  as  follows : 

"Among  white  people,  nobody  ever  take  your 
wife — take  your  children — take  your  mother — cut 
oft  nose — cut  eves  out — burn  to  death  ?  No  !  Then 


224  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

you  no  cut  off  nose — you  no  cut  out  eyes — you  no 
burn  to  death — very  good." 

Then  the  Indian  went  on  to  say  that  he  had  often 
heard  that  white  people  hung  their  criminals  by  the 
neck  and  choked  them  to  death  like  dogs,  and  those 
their  own  people ;  to  which  Catlin  answered,  <4  Yes." 
He  then  said  he  had  learned  that  they  shut  each 
other  up  in  prisons,  where  they  keep  them  a  great 
part  of  their  lives  because  they  can't  pay  money ! 
Catlin  replied  in  the  affirmative  to  this,  which  occa 
sioned  great  surprise  and  excessive  laughter,  even 

CRUELTY  AMONG  PALE-FACES. 

amongst  the  women.  The  Indian  said  that  he  had 
been  to  the  fort  at  Council  Bluffs,  where  there  were 
a  great  many  warriors  and  braves,  and  he  saw  three 
of  them  taken  out  on  the  prairies  and  tied  to  a  post 
and  whipped  almost  to  death,  and  he  had  been  told 
that  they  submit  to  all  this  to  get  a  little  money. 
"  Yes."  He  said  he  had  been  told  that  when  all 
the  white  people  were  born,  their  white  medicine 
men  had  to  stand  by  and  look  on — that  in  the  Indian 
country  the  women  would  not  allow  that — they  would 
be  ashamed ;  that  he  had  been  along  the  Frontier, 
and  a  good  deal  amongst  the  white  people,  and  he 
had  seen  them  whip  their  little  children — a  thing 
that  is  very  cruel.  He  had  heard,  also,  from  several 
white  medicine  men  that  the  Great  Spirit  of  the 
white  people  was  the  child  of  a  white  woman,  and 
that  he  was  at  last  put  to  death  by  the  white  people ! 
This  seemed  to  be  a  thing  that  he  had  not  been 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR,  22$ 

able   to   comprehend,  and  he  concluded  by   say 
ing: 

GREAT  SPIRIT  NEVER  DIE. 

"  The  Indians'  Great  Spirit  got  no  mother — the  In 
dians  no  kill  him — he  never  die."  He  put  to  Catlin 
a  chapter  of  other  questions,  as  to  the  trespasses 
of  the  white  people  on  their  lands — their  continual 
corruption  of  the  morals  of  their  women,  and  dig 
ging  open  the  Indians'  graves  to  get  their  bones, 
etc. — to  all  of  which  the  traveler  was  compelled  to 
reply  in  the  affirmative,  and  quite  glad  to  close  his 
note-book  and  quietly  to  escape  from  the  throng 
that  had  collected  around  him,  saying  (though  to 
himself  and  silently)  that  these  and  an  hundred  other 
vices  belong  to  the  civilized  world,  and  are  practiced 
upon  (but  certainly,  in  no  instance,  reciprocated  by) 
the  "  cruel  and  relentless  savage." 

"I  fearlessly  assert  to  the  world,"  said  Catlin, 
"  (and  I  defy  contradiction)  that  the  North  American 
Indian  is  everywhere,  in  his  native  state,  a  highly 
moral  and  religious  being,  endowed  by  his  Maker 
with  an  intuitive  knowledge  of  some  great  Author 
of  his  being  and  the  universe ;  in  dread  of  whose 
displeasure  he  constantly  lives,  with  the  apprehen 
sion  before  him  of  a  future  state,  where  he  expects 
to  be  rewarded  or  punished  according  to  the  merits 
he  has  gained  or  forfeited  in  this  world." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

IN  PEACE  AND  WAR. 

THE  -Sioux  LANGUAGE— -AN  INDIAN'S  SENSE  OF  HUMOR—"  OLD  HUN 
DRED,"  "  COME  TO  JESUS  "  AND  THE  LORD'S  PRAYER  IN  Sioux — 
WAR  PAINT  OF  THE  BRAVES — A  BATTLE  WITH  THE  PAWNEES— THE 
VALUE  OF  A  SCALP— A  LEISURELY  INTERVIEW  WITH  A  BUSY  SEC 
RETARY. 

The  languages  of  Indian  tribes  differ  much  from 
each  other,  and  many  of  them  have  become  consid 
erably  modified  by  the  assimilation  of  English, 
French,  and  Spanish  words.  The  Sioux  language  is 
one  of  the  most  elaborate  and  sonorous  of  them  all, 
and  its  grammar  and  rhetoric,  as  well:  as  its  euphony, 
entitle  it  to  serious  consideration  among  the  many 
tongues  of  mankind.  "  In  entering  the  Sioux  coun- 
try,"  says  a  writer  in  the  Inter-Ocean,  "one  no 
longer  hears  the  familiar  words  of  the  pale-face,  '  Ah, 
there/  and  '  I  say,  old  boy ;'  but  it  is  '  How  Rola/ 
and  *  Lila  Washte/  everywhere.  To  become  a  mas 
ter  of  the  Sioux  language  is  tne  task  of  years.  For 
the  brightest  mind  to  become  acquainted  with  the 
peculiar  construction  of  the  Dakota  sentence,  the 
idiomatic  expressions,  and  any  proportion  of  their 
ao,ooo  ^ords  would  require  months  of  toil ;  but  for 
226 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR.  22  ^ 

the  purposes  of  trade  or  social  intercourse  a  few 
weeks  will  give  one  a  very  fair  start.  In  fact,  the 
whole  stock  in  trade  of  many  so-called  interpreters 
consists  only  in  knowing  a  score  or  two  of  words,  a 
dozen  or  two  verbs,  a  slight  acquaintance  with  the 
sign  language,  some  native  wit,  and  the  ability  to 
lie  without  changing  color.  The  great  difficulty  is, 
like  the  French,  in  placing  the  accent.  This  is  gen 
erally  on  the  second  syllable,  but,  alas,  where  one 
least  expects  it  the  accent  belongs  on  the  first. 

"  I  tried  to  find  out,  the  other  day,  how  many 
acres  one  of  the  scamps  cultivated,  and  asked : 
'  How  many  acres  of  field  have  you  ?'  Alas  for  me, 
*  maga  '  with  the  accent  strong  on  the  first  syllable, 
means  field,  but  the  same  word  with  accent  on  the 
second  syllable  means  'goose.' 

FULL  OF  HUMOR. 

"  The  Indian  has  a  fine  sense  of  humor,  and  he 
howled  and  yelled  when  I  asked  how  many  acres  of 
goose  he  had.  The  letters  of  the  alphabet  are  the 
same  as  in  English,  and  are  pronounced  the  same, 
except  the  following:  C  is  like  ch  in  chin,  e  as  a, 
j  as  z  in  azure,  g  like  an  explosive  k,  u  as  oo  in  ooze, 
while  g  has  a  rough,  gutteral  sound  unlike  anything 
in  English,  and  h  is  a  laughing  h  not  found  in  any 
other  language.  In  constructing  the  sentence  they 
state  first  the  subject,  then  its  qualifying  words,  next 
the  object  with  its  adjectives,  and  then  the  verb  fol 
lowed  by  its  qualifiers." 


228  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

For  example:  The  white  soldier  is  afraid  of  the 
noble  red  man,  would  be  "  soldier  white,  Indian 
brave,  afraid  heap,"  "akicita  ska  ikcewicasta  wako- 
kipa  pahi."  Or,  for  another  example,  dog  is  "sunka," 
a  large  dog  is  "  sunka  tanka,"  a  large  yellow  dog 
would  be  "  sunka  tanka  yawa,"  to  eat  is  "  yuta," 
good  is  "  washte,"  very  is  "  lila."  So  that  if  one 
wishes  to  sympathize  with  his  dusky  brother  and 
change  the  conversation  from  the  weather  by  ob 
serving  that  a  large  yellow  dog  is  very  good  to  eat, 
he  should  say,  "Sunka  tanka  yawa  yuta  lila  washte." 
Such  a  remark  would  place  you  on  good  terms  with 
the  family  and  be  greeted  with  deep  grunts  of  ap 
proval. 

All  Indian  books  have  been  abolished  in  the 
schools,  and  neither  teacher  or  pupil  are  allowed 
under  strictly  imposed  penalties  to  use  a  word  of 
Dakota  under  any  circumstances.  In  all  of  the 
shops  notices  dignified  with  the  signature  of  the 
agent  are  posted  forbidding  an  Indian  word  to  be 
used.  In  their  churches  and  Sunday-schools,  how 
ever,  the  native  language  is  used,  and  one  may 
hear  all  the  familiar  songs  given  in  the  Sioux.  "Old 
Hundred"  has  a  majestic  sound  even  when  pro 
nounced  : 

"  Wakantanka  yatan  miye, 
Cinhintku  kin  makata  hi, 
Wicaceji  yatanpi  kte, 
Qa  Woniya  Wakan  kici." 

And  the  children's  voices  have  the  fresh,  sweet  mel- 


AND    THE    INDIAN  WAR.  2  29 

ody  of  youth  when  they  sing  "  Come  to  Jesus"  in 
their  native  tongue : 

"  Jesus  en  u,  Jesus  en  u,  Jesus  en  u  wanna, 
U  wo,  Jesus  en  u,  Jesus  en  u  wanna." 

To  attend  their  churches  and  to  learn  that  they 
are  human  beings,  with  human  hearts  and  souls, 
and  in  spite  of  all  prejudice  of  all  memory  of 
frontier  horrors,  one  comes  back  realizing  that 
there  is  a  meaning  that  cannot  be  ignored  in  the 
words  the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood 
of  man,  when  he  has  seen  a  room-full  of  Indians 
with  heads  bowed  repeating 

THE    LORD'S   PRAYER. 

Ateunyanpi  Mahpiya  ekta  nanke  cin, 

Nicaje  wankandapi  kte ;  Nitokiconze  u  kte. 

Nitiwacin  maka  akan  econpi  nunwe ;  mahpiya  ekta  iyececa. 

Anpetu  kinde  ampetu  woyute  ungu  po. 

Qa  waunhtanipi  unkicicajuju  miye,  tona  sicaya  ecaunkicoupi  wicunkicicajujupi 

kin  iyececa, 
Qu  taku  wawiyutan  en  unkayapi  sni  ye  ;  tuka  taku  sice  cin  etanhan  eunyaku 

po. 

Wokicsnse  kin  he  Fiye  nitawa,  ga 
Wowasake  kin,  ga  wowitan  kin,  owihanke  wanica.     Amen. 

The  war-customs  of  the  Sioux  have  also  their 
own  peculiarities.  When  the  braves  go  on  the  war 
path,  they  black  their  faces  from  the  eyes  down,  the 
forehead  being  colored  a  bright  red.  When  in 
mourning,  and  very  eager  to  revenge  the  death  of 
friends  or  relations,  they  cut  their  hair  short  and 


230  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

daub  their  faces  with  white  earth.  Their  feats  of 
horsemanship  are  wonderful.  They  consider  the 
greatest  act  of  valor  to  be  the  striking  of  their 
enemy  with  some  hand  instrument  while  alive,  and, 
whether  live  or  dead,  it  is  the  first  one  that  strikes 
the  fallen  foe  that  "counts  the  coup,"  and  not  the 
one  that  shoots  him.  They  do  not  always  scalp. 
Their  object  in  scalping  is  to  furnish  a  proof  of 
their  deed,  and  give  them  to  their  women  to  dance 
over.  They  always  attack  in  a  sweeping,  circling 
line,  eagle-like,  give  a  volley,  pass  on,  circle,  and 
return  on  a  different  angle.  When  they  kill  one  of 
the  enemy  there  is  always  a  rush  to  get  the  first 
crack  at  him,  so  as  to  "  count  the  coup,"  and  then 
some  Indian  who  was  disappointed  in  getting  a  cut 
at  the  victim  while  alive,  scalps  him.  The  Sioux 
always  camp  with  tepes  (lodges)  in  a  circle,  making, 
as  it  were,  a  stockade,  and  when  on  dangerous 
ground  they  picket  their  ponies  in  the  centre. 

A  story  characteristic  of  Indian  battle  superstition 
is  related  by  Miss  Rheta  Louise  Childe,  who  lived 
for  some  years  among  the  Sioux  and  witnessed 
many  of  their  doings  in  both  peace  and  war. 

"  On  the  fourth  day's  march  from  the  Missouri 
River,"  she  says,  "the  troops  reached  the  Pawnee 
Reservation.  The  Pawnees  and  the  Sioux  have 
been  at  war  from  time  immemorial,  and  these  In^ 
dians  were  hourly  expecting  an  attack  from  their 
old  and  inveterate  foes.  Within  an  hour  of  the 
arrival  of  the  troops  yells  of  alarm  and  firing  of 


AND    THE   INDIAN   WAR.  23! 

guns  were  followed  by  bugle-calls  of  'boots  and 
saddles'  and  the  'assembly.'  The  Pawnee  videttes 
came  in  on  a  desperate  run,  and  met  the  Pawnee 
braves  going  to  their  rescue,  only  to  be  driven  back 
pell-mell  into  the  village  by  vastly  superior  numbers 
of  Sioux,  who  killed  and  scalped  all  who  were 
unable  to  escape.  Although  the  fight  was  entirely 
between  the  two  tribes  of  Indians,  the  troops,  as  in 
duty  bound,  rushed  to  the  defense  of  the  Govern 
ment  buildings,  in  which  were  quartered  several 
teachers  and  missionaries.  They  were  not  a  minute 
too  soon  ;  for  at  the  next  instant  the  victorious 
Sioux,  under  the  already  famous  Rain-in-the-Face, 
swept  into  the  yard  of  the  mission. 

CHARACTERISTIC  INCIDENT. 

"And  here  occurred  an  incident  characteristic  of 
Indian  superstition.  A  young  squaw,  fleeing  from 
the  advancing  Sioux,  reached  the  inclosure,  pursued 
by  half  a  score  of  painted  devils,  their  hands  already 
reeking  with  Pawnee  gore.  Seeing  escape  impos 
sible,  she  fell  flat  on  the  ground  and  pulled  her 
blanket  over  her  head  to  lose  sight  of  the  descend 
ing  blow.  It  came  from  a  tomahawk  that  glanced 
off  her  skull  without  penetrating  it.  The  whites 
were  within  a  few  rods,  firing  as  they  ran,  and  one 
of  the  Sioux  braves  fell,  shot  dead,  beside  the  pros 
trate  woman.  Another,  however,  jerked  the  blanket 
from  her  bleeding  head,  and,  with  haste  born  of 
fear,  cut  around  and  cruelly  lifted  her  scalp,  she 
conscious  all  the  time,  but  never  uttering  a  sound. 


332  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

The  savage  fled  with  his  bloody  trophy  to  rejoin  his 
comrades.  The  troops  came  to  the  rescue  of  the 
sadly  outnumbered  Pawnees,  and  together  they  suc 
ceeded  in  putting  the  Sioux  to  rout.  When  the 
panic  subsided,  the  wounded  squaw  was  borne  into 
the  mission  hospital  and  her  injuries  dressed.  In 
spite  of  the  scalping,  she  bade  fair  to  recover. 
Strange  to  relate,  however,  her  friends  showed 
great  reluctance  to  her  receiving  medical  treatment, 
claiming  that,  according  to  all  Indian  precept  and 
example,  a  scalped  person  should  be  dead,  and  her 
recovery  would  only  bring  'bad  medicine'  to  her 
tribe.  The  woman  acquiesced  in  this  opinion,  and 
expressed  perfect  willingness  to  be  sacrificed  to  the 
ancient  customs.  The  next  morning  the  squaw's  cot 
was  empty,  and  the  patient  nowhere  to  be  found. 

RESCUE  OF  THE  SQUAW. 

"Two  days  later,  some  troopers  hunting  a  stray 
horse  on  the  river  bank,  miles  away,  were  startled 
to  hear  groans  coming  from  a  neighboring  thicket. 
Thinking  that  some  Wounded  Sioux  had  been  aban 
doned  to  die,  they  cautiously  approached.  There, 
buried  all  but  her  face  in  the  drifting  sand,  was  the 
scalped  squaw,  still  alive  and  conscious.  They  dug 
her  out  and  brought  her  back  to  the  mission,  thor 
oughly  cured  of  her  willingness  to  die.  She  told 
how  she  had  been  stolen  from  the  hospital  by  her 
own  family  and  buried  by  the  river  bank.  She  now 
wanted  to  live,  and  a  close  watch  was  kept  to  pre 
vent  her  being  again  offered  as  a  victim  to  savage 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR.  233 

superstition.  Once  afterward,  when  walking  in  the 
yard,  she  was  spirited  away  by  the  Pawnees  and 
hidden  in  a  tepee,  that,  when  night  fell,  she  might 
be  buried  more  securely.  Again  she  was  restored 
to  the  mission,  and  upon  strong  threats  of  military 
vengeance  should  anything  occur  to  her  in  future, 
the  poor  creature  was  allowed  by  her  tribe  to  live 
out  the  remainder  of  her  days." 

Swift  as  is  the  Indian  in  the  hunt  and  on  the  war* 
path,  he  is  a  lover  of  leisure,  and  he  is  most  persist 
ent  in  that  love.  This  trait  is  to  be  observed  in  his 
pow-wows  or  diplomatic  interviews  with  Govern 
ment  officials.  He  insists  upon  taking  full  time  to 
think  things  over.  During  the  administration  of 
President  Cleveland,  it  is  told,  a  party  of  Sioux  chiefs 
went  to  Washington  to  see  Mr.  Vilas,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior,  who  had  supreme  charge  of  the  In- 

VILAS  OUTWITTED. 

dian  Department.  When  they  reached  Washing 
ton,  says  Mr.  L.  E.  Quigg,  who  tells  the  story, 
Mr.  Vilas  arranged  to  see  them.  Vilas  is  one  of 
those  nervous,  bustling  men  who  never  have  the 
tenth  part  of  a  second  to  spare.  The  Indians  are, 
above  all  things,  deliberative  in  ceremonial  matters. 
When  they  were  ushered  into  the  Secretary's  room, 
he  wheeled  around  in  his  chair  and  said  he  was  the 
Great  Father's  Secretary,  and  would  hear  what  they 
wished  to  say.  His  brusque  manner  greatly  offen 
ded  the  Sioux.  There  was  a  long  pause,  broken  at 
last  by  the  Secretary,  who  urged  them  to  go  ahead, 


234  L2FE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

speak  their  speech  and  get  done.  Finally,  one  old 
fellow  arose  and  delivered  himself  as  follows :  "  We 
are  glad  to  see  the  Great  Father's  chief.  We  are 
glad  to  hear  his  voice.  We  are  his  friends.  We 
have  come  a  long  way  in  the  Great  Father's  car 
nage  that  says  '  chu  !  chu  ! '  (imitating  the  puffs  of  a 
steam  engine),  and  that  rolls  and  bounces — so ! 
(imitating  the  motion  of  the  car).  We  are  tired. 
We  will  see  the  white  chief  on  Monday." 

Mr.  Vilas  was  much  disgusted.  He  said  he  didn't 
do  business  that  way,  If  they  wanted  to  talk  they 
must  do  it  now.  Another  long  pause,  and  then  a 
second  chief  arose. 

"  We  are  glad  to  see  the  Great  Father's  chief," 
said  he.  "  We  are  glad  to  hear  his  voice.  We  are 
his  friends.  We  have  come  a  long  way  in  the  Great 
Father's  carriage  that  says  '  chu  !  chu  ! '  and  that 
rolls  and  bounces — so !  We  are  tired.  We  will 
see  the  white  chief  on  Monday." 

GUESSED  MONDAY  WOULD  DO. 

Again  the  Secretary  remonstrated.  He  said  he 
was  a  busy  man.  He  could  not  see  them  again. 
They  must  talk  now  or  not  at  all.  A  third  pause, 
more  prolonged  than  ever.  Then  the  third  chief 
slowly  got  up  and  said :  "  We  are  glad  to  see  the 
Great  Father's  chief.  We  are  glad  to  hear  his 
voice.  We  are  his  friends.  We  have  come  a  long 
way  in  the  Great  Father's  carriage  that  says  *  chu  ! 
chu !'  and  that  rolls  and  bounces — so  !  We  are  tired. 
We  will  see  the  white  chief  on  Monday/' 


AND   TtfE  'INDIA  tf  WAR.  237 

Poor  Mr.  Vilas  was  becoming  a's  tired  as  the 
weary  Injun.  But  he  tried  it  once  more,  this  time 
appealingly*  The  fourth  chief,  after  waiting  fully 
five  minutes  in  silence,  responded :  "  We  are  glad 
to  see  the  Great  Father's  chief.  We  are  glad  to 
hear  his  voice.  We  are  his  friends.  We  have 
come  a  long  way  in  the  Great  Father's  carriage 
that  says  *  chu  !  chu  P  and  that  rolls  and  bounces— 
so  !  We  are  tired.  We  will  see  the  white  chief  on 
Monday." 

Mr.  Vilas  gave  it  up.  He  meekly  replied  that  he 
guessed  Monday  would  suit  him  as  well  as  any 
other  day. 


XVII. 

FEASTING  AND  DANCING. 

CONSPICUOUS  FEATURES  OF  INDIAN  PUBLIC  LIFE — A  GRAND  FESTIVAL  IN  THE 
OLDEN  TIME — THE  SPEECH  OF  WELCOME — STEWED  DOG  THE  LEADING 
DISH — THE  GRASS  DANCE  OF  THE  Two  KETTLES,  AND  ITS  ACCOMPANY 
ING  FEAST  OF  DOG — DANCING  EXTRAORDINARY — THE  BEAR  DANCE, 
BEGGAR'S  DANCE,  SCALP  DANCE  AND  SUN  DANCE. 

Among  the  public  ceremonies  of  the  Indians 
feasting  and  dancing  occupy  a  conspicuous  place. 
Thus  they  entertain  distinguished  visitors.  Thus 
they  manifest  their  religious  enthusiasm.  Thus  they 
prepare  for  the  warpath,  and  thus  they  celebrate 
their  triumphant  return  therefrom.  When  Catlin 
and  his  white  comrades  visited  the  Sioux,  when  that 
nation  was  at  the  zenith  of  its  power,  they  were  en 
tertained  at  a  great  festival.  The  chiefs  and  braves 
formed,  says  the  artist-historian,  a  huge  semicircle. 
"  In  the  centre  was  erected  a  flag-staff,  on  which  was 
waving  a  white  flag,  and  to  which  also  was  tied  the 
calumet,  both  expressive  of  their  friendly  feeling  to 
ward  us.  Near  the  foot  of  the  flag-staff  were  placed, 
in  a  row  on  the  ground,  six  or  eight  kettles  with  iron 
covers  on  them,  shutting  them  tight,  in  which  were 
238 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  239 

prepared  the  viands  for  our  voluptuous  feast.  Near 
the  kettles,  and  on  the  ground  also,  bottomside  up 
ward,  were  a  number  of  wooden  bowls  in  which 
the  meat  was  to  be  served  out.  And  in  front,  two  or 
three  men,  who  were  there  placed  as  waiters,  to  light 
the  pipes  for  smoking  and  also  to  deal  out  the  food. 
"  In  these  positions  things  stood,  and  all  sat,  with 
thousands  climbing  and  crowding  around  for  a  peep 

THE   ONE    HORN. 

at  the  grand  pageant,  when  at  length  Ha-wan-je-tah 
(The  One  Horn),  head  chief  of  the  nation,  rose  in 
front  of  the  Indian  Agent  in  a  very  handsome  cos 
tume,  and  addressed  him  thus :  *  My  father,  I  am 
glad  to  see  you  here  to-day — my  heart  is  always  glad 
to  see  my  father  when  he  comes — our  Great  Father 
who  sends  him  here  is  very  rich,  and  we  are  poor. 
Our  friend  Mr.  M'Kenzie,  who  is  here,  we  are  also 
glad  to  see  ;  we  know  him  well,  and  we  shall  be  sorry 
when  he  is  gone.  Our  friend  who  is  on  your  right 
hand  we  all  know  is  very  rich,  and  we  have  heard 
that  he  owns  the  great  medicine-canoe.  He  is  a 
good  man,  and  a  friend  to  the  red  men.  Our  friend 
the  White  Medicine,  who  sits  with  you,  we  did  not 
know — he  came  amongst  us  a  stranger,  and  he  has 
made  me  very  well — all  the  women  know  it  and 
think  it  very  good.  He  has  done  many  curious 
things,  and  we  have  all  been  pleased  with  him — he 
has  made  us  much  amusement — and  we  know  he  is 
great  medicine. 


240  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

" '  My  father,  I  hope  you  will  have  pity  on  us,  we 
are  very  poor.  We  offer  you  to-day  not  the  best 
that  we  have  got,  for  we  have  a  plenty  of  good  buffalo 

WE    OFFER    OUR    HEARTS. 

hump  and  marrow,  but  we  give  you  our  hearts  in 
this  feast.  We  have  killed  our  faithful  dogs  to  feed 
you,  and  the  Great  Spirit  will  seal  our  friendship.  I 
have  no  more  to  say.' 

"  After  these  words  he  took  off  his  beautiful  war- 
eagle  head-dress,  his  shirt  and  leggings,  his  neck 
lace  of  grizzly  bears'  claws  and  his  moccasins,  and 
tying  them  together  laid  them  gracefully  down  at  the 
feet  of  the  agent  as  a  present ;  and,  laying  a  hand 
some  pipe  on  top  of  them,  he  walked  around  into  an 
adjoining  lodge,  where  he  got  a  buffalo  robe  to  cover 
his  shoulders,  and  returned  to  the  feast,  taking  the 
seat  which  he  had  before  occupied. 

"  Major  Sanford  then  rose  and  made  a  short  speech 
in  reply,  thanking  him  for  the  valuable  present  which 
he  had  made  him,  and  for  the  very  polite  and  impres 
sive  manner  in  which  it  had  been  done ;  and  sent  to  the 
steamer  for  a  quantity  of  tobacco  and  other  presents, 
which  were  given  to  him  in  return.  After  this,  and 
after  several  others  of  the  chiefs  had  addressed  him 
in  a  similar  manner  and,  like  the  first,  disrobed 
themselves  and  thrown  their  beautiful  costumes  at 
his  feet,  one  of  the  three  men  in  front  deliberately 

SMOKING   THE    PIPE. 

lit  a  handsome  pipe  and  brought  it  to  Ha-wan-je-tah 
to  smoke.     He  took  it,  and  after  presenting  the 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  241 

stem  to  the  North,  to  the  South,  to  the  East  and  the 
West,  and  then  to  the  sun  that  was  over  his  head,  and 
pronouncing  the  words  '  How-how-how  ! '  drew  a 
whiff  or  two  of  smoke  through  it ;  and  holding  the 
bowl  of  it  in  one  hand  and  its  stem  in  the  other,  he 
then  held  it  to  each  of  our  mouths,  as  we  successively 
smoked  it ;  after  which  it  was  passed  around  through 
the  whole  group,  who  all  smoked  through  it,  or  as  far 
as  its  contents  lasted,  when  another  of  the  three 
waiters  was  ready  with  a  second,  and  at  length  a 
third  one  in  the  same  way,  which  lasted  through  the 
hands  of  the  whole  number  of  guests.  This  smoking 
was  conducted  with  the  strictest  adherence  to  exact 
and  established  form,  and  the  feast  the  whole  way,  to 
the  most  positive  silence.  After  the  pipe  is  charged 
and  is  being  lit,  until  the  time  that  the  chief  has 
drawn  the  smoke  through  it,  it  is  considered  an  evil 
omen  for  any  one  to  speak ;  and  if  any  one  break 
silence  in  that  time,  even  in  a  whisper,  the  pipe  is  in- 

SUPERSTITION. 

stantly  dropped  by  the  chief,  and  their  superstition  is 
such  that  they  would  not  dare  to  use  it  on  this  occasion, 
but  another  is  called  for  and  used  in  its  stead.  If 
there  is  no  accident  of  the  kind  during  the  smoking, 
the  waiters  then  proceed  to  distribute  the  meat, 
which  is  soon  devoured  in  .the  feast. 

"  In  this  case  the  lids  were  raised  from  the  kettles, 
which  were  all  filled  with  dogs'  meat  alone.  It  being 
well  cooked  and  made  into  a  sort  of  a  stew,  sent  forth 
a  very  savory  and  pleasing  smell,  promising  to  be  an 


242  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

DOG    FEAST. 

acceptable  and  palatable  food.  Each  of  us  civilized 
guests  had  a  large  wooden  bowl  placed  before  us, 
with  a  huge  quantity  of  dogs'  flesh  floating  in  a  pro 
fusion  of  soup  or  rich  gravy,  with  a  large  spoon  rest 
ing  in  the  dish,  made  of  the  buffalo' s  horn.  In  this  most 
difficult  and  painful  dilemma  we  sat,  all  of  us  know 
ing  the  solemnity  and  good  feeling  in  which  it  was 
given,  and  the  absolute  necessity  of  falling  to  and  de 
vouring  a  little  of  it.  We  all  tasted  it  a  few  times 
and  resigned  our  dishes,  which  were  quite  willingly 
taken  and  passed  around  with  others  to  every  part 
of  the  group,  who  all  ate  heartily  of  the  delicious 
viands,  which  were  soon  dipped  out  of  the  kettles  and 
entirely  devoured ;  after  which  each  one  arose  as  he 
felt  disposed  and  walked  off  without  uttering  a  word. 
In  this  way  the  feast  ended,  and  all  retired  silently 
and  gradually  until  the  ground  was  left  vacant  to  the 
charge  of  the  waiters  or  officers,  who  seemed  to  have 
charge  of  it  during  the  whole  occasion. 

"  This  feast  was  unquestionably  given  to  us  as  the 
most  undoubted  evidence  they  could  give  us  of  their 

EVIDENCE     OF    FRIENDSHIP. 

friendship ;  and  we,  who  knew  the  spirit  and  feeling 
in  which  it  was  given,  could  not  but  treat  it  respect 
fully,  and  receive  it  as  a  >*ery  high  and  marked  com 
pliment. 

"  Since  I  witnessed  it  on  this  occasion  I  have  been 
honored  with  numerous  enteitainments  of  the  kind 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  243 

amongst  the  other  tribes  which  I  have  visited  to 
ward  the  source  of  the  Missouri,  and  all  conducted 
in  the  same  solemn  and  impressive  manner;  from 
which  I  feel  authorized  to  pronounce  the  dog-feast  a 
truly  religious  ceremony,  wherein  the  poor  Indian 
sees  fit  to  sacrifice  his  faithful  companion  to  bear  tes 
timony  to  the  sacredness  of  his  vows  of  friendship, 
and  invite  his  friend  to  partake  of  its  flesh  to  remind 
him  forcibly  of  the  reality  of  the  sacrifice  and  the 
solemnity  of  his  professions/' 

GRASS    DANCE. 

Resembling  this  is  the  " Grass  Dance"  of  the 
Two  Kettle  Sioux,  which  is  much  practiced  by  them 
in  their  fallen  estate  at  the  present  day.  These  Two 
Kettle  Sioux  have  never  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  military  in  a  professional  way.  They  are  a 
thoroughly  peaceable  set  of  people,  and  even  during 
the  recent  tumult  of  religious  enthusiasm  have 
manifested  no  interest  in  the  expected  advent  of  the 
Red  Man's  Messiah.  They  inhabit  the  muddy 
gumbo  hills  around  Fort  Pierre,  S.  D.,  and  have  so 
attached  themselves  to  that  unbeautiful  region  that 
they  prefer  the  lesser  evil  of  civilization  to  the  ca 
lamity  of  seeking  another,  and  peradventure  a  bet 
ter,  dwelling-place.  Most  of  them  speak  English ; 
they  till  the  soil  and  are  daily  seen  in  the  markets 
of  Fort  Pierre,  exchanging  the  fruits  of  their  labor 
for  such  luxuries  as  coffee,  sugar  and  tobacco.  Their 
horses,  cattle,  clothing  and  farming  implements  are 


£44  HFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

furnished  by  the  Government,  according  to  the  in 
dustry  and  worth  of  the  individual,  or,  to  be  more 
literal,  according  to  the  estimation  in  which  he  is 
held  by  John  Holland,  head  farmer  and  general 
superintendent  of  the  tribe.  For  instance,  if  a  Two 
Kettle  wants  an  axe  or  a  spade  he  has  to  apply  to 
John  Holland,  who  audits  the  claim  and  awards  or 
withholds  the  tool  as  his  superior  judgment  dictates. 
The  "Grass  Dance,"  says  Miss  Childe,  is  sup 
posed  to  propitiate  the  spirits  who  have  charge  of 
the  growth  of  grass  and  increase  of  game.  The 
visitor  to  the  festival  sees  a  curiously  picturesque 
gathering.  Twenty  teepees,  red  and  yellow  in  the 
sunset  light,  surround  a  large  log-house,  thatched 

DESCRIPTION. 

and  chinked  with  mud — the  dance-house.  In  the 
foreground  two  lithe  Indian  boys,  almost  naked,  are 
racing.  A  mob  of  Two  Kettles  look  on  with  noisy 
interest.  An  aged  Indian  crosses  the  middle  dis 
tance,  leading  a  large  and  very  dejected  dog.  The 
animal  is  about  one-third  staghound  and  the  rest 
yellow  cur.  The  two  disappear  in  one  of  the  teepees, 
a  pistol  shot  is  heard  and  the  poor  dog  has  gone  to 
the  "  happy  land  of  canine." 

Why  this  sacrifice?  At  the  risk  of  offending 
your  sensibilities — this  is  a  barbecue.  The  dog  is 
placed  on  a  bed  of  coals  and  thoroughly  singed.  A 
squaw  deftly  runs  a  knife  over  him  and  removes  the 
entrails — delicacies  reserved  for  chiefs  and  digni- 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  245 

taries  present.  He  is  now  cut  up  into  small  bits 
and  flung  into  the  pot  in  the  presence  of  an  enthusi 
astic  rabble  of  Two  Kettles,  whose  mouths  water  at 
the  sight.  There  are  other  dogs,  of  course,  since 
one  would  not  suffice  to  feed  such  a  multitude,  but 
this  big  fellow  is  the  piece  de  resistance.  If  your 
nostrils  are  delicate  you  will  leave  the  kitchen  and 
wander  among  the  other  teepees.  Dirt,  squaws, 
dogs,  children  and  braves  adorn  the  interiors. 

Presently  a  leather-lunged  crier  announces  the 
beginning  of  the  dance  in  vernacular  Two  Kettle. 
The  summons  of  "  John-Hunts-the-Enemy,"  who,  as 
a  town-crier  is  a  glittering  success,  whatever  he  may 
be  as  a  farmer,  is  not  unheeded.  The  band  as 
sembles  in  the.  large  log-house,  men  on  one  side, 
women  on  the  other.  Dogs,  fleas,  children  and  dirt 
ad  lib.  A  huge  kettledrum,  on  which  six  virtuosos 

INDIAN    CHANT. 

perform,  occupies  one  corner.  Then  is  raised  that 
universal  Indian  chant,  "  Hi-yah,  hi-yah,  hi-yah, 
hi-yah,"  beginning  in  a  low  guttural  key  and  increas 
ing  both  in  volume  and  pitch  until  the  participants 
reach  a  state  of  frenzy  and  breathlessness.  Then, 
after  a  brief  pause,  some  one  recovers  wind  enough 
to  start  up  a  hoarse  "  Hi-yah,  hi-yah  !"  and  in  a  mo 
ment  the  whole  crew  are  yelling  for  dear  life.  The 
object  of  the  "music"  is  a  double  one.  It  serves 
to  mark  time  and  to  excite  the  dancers.  One  by 
one  they  fall  into  the  ring  to  dance  and  whoop. 


246  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

The  costumes  are  many  and  varied.  One  gentle 
man  is  attired  principally  in  a  plug  hat,  another  in  a 
sort  of  a  Grecian  bend  made  of  turkey  feathers, 
another  in  two  yards  of  red  flannel  that  drags  behind 
like  the  tail  of  the  Irishman's  coat  at  Donnybrook 
Fair.  David  Smoking  Bear  has  arrayed  his  person 
in  a  generous  coat  of  gray  gumbo  mud.  All  are 
more  or  less  painted.  One  Indian  wears  a  blue 
breech  clout.  His  head,  even  before  it  was  smashed 
in  on  the  left  side,  was  not  handsome.  Now  he  has 
adorned  the  smashed  portion  with  red  and  green 
paint.  The  vicissitudes  of  an  eventful  life  have 
cropped  off  both  legs  below  the  knees  and  crippled 
his  left  hand  for  him.  All  of  which,  while  it  is  not 
his  fault,  has  served  to  decrease  his  popularity  among 
the  fair  sex.  He  is  a  good  dancer,  notwithstanding 

INDIAN    ATTIRE. 

his  infirmities,  and  is  as  graceful  as  any  of  his  friends. 
His  body  is  smeared  with  yellow,  and  his  hair  is 
stuck  full  of  turkey  feathers  and  porcupine  quills. 
He  dances,  yells  and  bounces  around  in  a  frenzy 
which  strikes  you  as  ridiculous  or  sickening,  accord 
ing  to  your  sense  of  humor  or  lack  of  it.  He  has  a 
wild  fascination  for  me,  either  in  the  mazes  of  the 
dance  or  in  the  pursuit  of  his  business,  which  is 
horse-breaking.  When  he  wraps  those  stumps  of 
his  around  the  lean  hide  of  a  broncho,  that  noble 
animal  may  as  well  make  up  his  mind  first  as  last, 
that  those  stumps  are  there  to  stay. 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  247 

Now  the  dog  soup  is  brought  in  to  regale  the 
nostrils  of  the  dancers.  The  pungent  odor  fills  the 
air  and  whets  the  appetite  of  the  famished  crowd, 
but  the  dance  goes  on.  One  huge  brave  plucks  a 
bunch  of  grass  from  the  ceiling,  thrusts  it  into  the 
fire  and  lights  it.  Another  seizes  his  Grecian  bend 
and  holds  it  in  the  smoke,  chanting  and  moaning 
meanwhile.  In  the  pauses  of  the  dance  the  old  war 
riors  recount  thrilling  tales  of  their  prowess  and  dar 
ing  in  battles  with  the  Paleface.  Assent  and  ap- 

HOWLS    OF    APPROVAL. 

proval  are  evinced  by  loud  and  prolonged  howls  and 
beating  of  the  kettle-drums.  Finally  the  souls  of  the 
company  are  deemed  sufficiently  purified,  and  the 
soup  is  cool  enough  to  eat.  Several  of  the  old  fel 
lows  dance  around  the  pot  and  make  passes  at  it, 
keeping  time  with  the  orchestra.  Several  rounds  of 
this,  then  more  dancing.  One  seizes  a  handful  of 
tin  cups  and  distributes  them.  Again  the  dancers 
circulate  around  the  pot.  The  ceremonies  seem 
endless  and  the  waiting  grows  very  wearisome. 
But  at  last  the  cups  are  brought  forth  and  filled  with 
soup,  a  dainty  morceau  of  dog  is  placed  in  each,  and 
the  banquet  is  begun.  The  dog  soup  being  disposed 
of,  all  but  the  odor,  which  " hangs  'round  you  still" 
for  several  days,  the  assemblage  breaks  up,  and  that 
Grass  Dance  is  over. 

There  are  many  other  different  dances  among  the 
Sioux,  who  are  the  greatest  dancers  of  all  Indians, 


248  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

Some  of  these  were  witnessed  by  Catlin,  and  thus 
described : 

"  Instead  of  the  '  giddy  maze '  of  the  quadrille  or 
the  country  dance,  enlivened  by  the  cheering  smiles 
and  graces  of  silkened  beauty,  the  Indian  performs 
his  rounds  with  jumps  and  starts  and  yells,  much 
to  the  satisfaction  of  his  own  exclusive  self  and  infi 
nite  amusement  of  the  gentler  sex,  who  are  always 
lookers  on,  but  seldom  allowed  so  great  a  pleasure, 

BUCKS   ONLY. 

or  so  signal  an  honor,  as  that  of  joining  with  their 
lords  in  this  or  any  other  entertainment.  Whilst 
staying  with  these  people  on  my  way  up  the  river,  I 
was  repeatedly  honored  with  the  dance,  and  I  as 
often  hired  them  to  give  them,  or  went  to  overlook 
where  they  were  performing  them  at  their  own 
pleasure,  in  pursuance  of  their  peculiar  customs,  or 
for  their  own  amusement,  that  I  might  study  and 
correctly  herald  them  to  future  ages.  I  saw  so 
many  of  their  different  varieties  of  dances  amongst 
the  Sioux,  that  I  should  almost  be  disposed  to 
denominate  them  the  'dancing  Indians.'  It  would 
actually  seem  as  if  they  had  dances  for  everything. 
And  in  so  large  a  village  there  was  scarcely  an  hour 
in  any  day  or  night  but  what  the  beat  of  the  drum 
could  somewhere  be  heard.  These  dances  are 
almost  as  various  and  different  in  their  character  as 
they  are  numerous — some  of  them  so  exceedingly 
grotesque  and  laughable  as  to  keep  the  bystanders 


AND  T&£  INDIAN  WAR. 

in  an  irresistible  roar  oi  laughter — others  are  calcu 
lated  to  excite  his  pity,  and  forcibly  appeal  to  his 
sympathies,  whilst  others  disgust,  and  yet  others 
terrify  and  alarm  him  with  their  frightful  threats  and 
contortions. 

BEAR   DANCE. 

"  All  the  world  has  heard  of  the  *  Bear  Dance/ 
though  I  doubt  whether  more  than  a  very  small  pro 
portion  has  ever  seen  it.  Here  it  is.  The  Sioux, 
like  all  the  others  of  these  Western  tribes,  are  fond 
of  bear's  meat,  and  must  have  good  stores  of  the 
bear's  grease  laid  in,  to  oil  their  long  and  glossy 
locks  as  well  as  the  surface  of  their  bodies.  And 
they  all  like  the  fine  pleasure  of  a  bear  hunt,  and 
also  a  participation  in  the  Bear  Dance,  which  is  given 
several  days  in  succession,  previous  to  their  starting 
out,  and  in  which  they  all  join  in  a  song  to  the  Bear 
Spirit,  which  they  think  holds  somewhere  an  invisi 
ble  existence  and  must  be  consulted  and  conciliated 
before  they  can  enter  upon  their  excursion  with  any 
prospect  of  success.  For  this  grotesque  and  amus 
ing  scene,  one  of  the  chief  medicine-men  placed  over 
his  body  the  entire  skin  of  a  bear,  with  a  war-eagle's 
quill  on  his  head,  taking  the  lead  in  the  dance,  and 

MASQUE    OF    BEAR   SKIN. 

looking  through  the  skin  which  formed  a  masque 
that  hung  over  his  face.  Many  others  in  the  dance 
wore  masques  on  their  faces,  made  of  the  skin  from 
the  bear's  head ;  and  all,  with  the  motions  of  their 


250  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

hands,  closely  imitated  the  movements  of  that 
animal ;  some  representing  its  motion  in  running, 
and  others  the  peculiar  attitude  and  hanging  of  the 
paws  when  it  is  sitting  up  on  its  hind  feet  and  look 
ing  out  for  the  approach  of  an  enemy.  This  gro 
tesque  and  amusing  masquerade  oftentimes  is 
continued  at  intervals  for  several  days  previous  to 
the  starting  of  a  party  on  the  bear  hunt,  who  would 
scarcely  count  upon  a  tolerable  prospect  of  success 
without  a  strict  adherence  to  this  most  important 
and  indispensable  form ! 

"Dancing  is  done  here  too,  as  it  is  oftentimes 

BEGGAR'S  DANCE. 

done  in  the  enlightened  world,  to  get  favors — to  buy 
the  world's  goods — and  in  both  countries  danced 
with  about  equal  merit,  except  that  the  Indian  has 
surpassed  us  in  honesty  by  christening  it  in  his  own 
country  the  '  Beggar's  Dance.'  This  spirited  dance 
was  given,  not  by  a  set  of  beggars  though,  literally 
speaking,  but  by  the  first  and  most  independent 
young  men  in  the  tribe,  beautifully  dressed  (i.  e., 
not  dressed  at  all,  except  with  their  breech  clouts  or 
kilts,  made  of  eagles'  and  ravens'  quills),  with  their 
lances  and  pipes  and  rattles  in  their  hands,  and  a 
medicine-man  beating  the  drum  and  joining  in  the 
song  at  the  highest  key  of  his  voice.  In  this  dance 
every  one  sings  as  loud  as  he  can  halloo,  uniting 
his  voice  with,  the  others  in  an  appeal  to  the  Great 
Spirit  to  open  the  hearts  of  the  bystanders  to  give 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  251 

to  the  poor,  and  not  to  themselves  ;  assuring  them 
that  the  Great  Spirit  will  be  kind  to  those  who  are 
kind  to  the  helpless  and  poor. 

SCALP   DANCE. 

"  The  Scalp  Dance  is  given  as  a  celebration  of  a 
victory ;  and  amongst  this  tribe,  as  I  learned  whilst 
residing  with  them,  danced  in  the  night,  by  the  light 
of  their  torches,  and  just  before  retiring  to  bed. 
When  a  war  party  returns  from  a  war  excursion, 
bringing  home  with  them  the  scalps  of  their  enemies, 
they  generally  dance  them  for  fifteen  nights  in  suc 
cession,  vaunting  forth  the  most  extravagant  boasts 
of  their  wonderful  prowess  in  war,  whilst  they 
brandish  their  war  weapons  in  their  hands.  A 
number  of  young  women  are  selected  to  aid  (though 
they  do  not  actually  join  in  the  dance),  by  stepping 
into  the  centre  of  the  ring,  and  holding  up  the  scalps 
that  have  been  recently  taken,  whilst  the  warriors 
dance  or  rather  jump,  around  in  a  circle,  brand 
ishing  their  weapons  and  barking  and  yelping  in 
the  most  frightful  manner,  all  jumping  on  both  feet 
at  a  time,  with  a  simultaneous  stamp,  and  blow  and 
thrust  of  their  weapons,  with  which  it  would  seem 
as  if  they  were  actually  cutting  and  carving  each 
other  to  pieces.  During  these  frantic  leaps,  and 

BATTLE    YELPS. 

yelps,  and  thrusts,  every  man  distorts  his  face  to  the 
utmost  of  his  muscles,  darting  about  his  glaring  eye 
balls  and  snapping  his  teeth,  as  if  he  were  in  the 


F  SITTING  &ULL 

heat  (and  actually  breathing  through  his  inflated 
nostrils  the  very  hissing  death)  of  battle  !  No  de 
scription  that  can  be  written  could  ever  convey  more 
than  a  feeble  outline  of  the  frightful  effects  of  these* 
scenes  enacted  in  the  dead  and  darkness  of  night, 
under  the  glaring  light  of  their  blazing  flambeaux  ; 
nor  could  all  the  years  allotted  to  mortal  man  in  the 
least  obliterate  or  deface  the  vivid  impress  that  one 
scene  of  this  kind  would  leave  upon  his  memorv." 

SUN  DANCE. 

The  barbarous  "  Sun  Dance,"  now  happily  abol 
ished,  was  witnessed  by  Catlin,  also.  On  the  bank 
of  the  Teton  River  he  found  a  group  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  lodges,  watching  a  man  "  looking  at  the  sun." 
"  We  found  him  naked,  except  his  breech-cloth,  with 
splints  or  skewers  run  through  the  flesh  on  both 
breasts,  leaning  back  and  hanging  with  the  weight 
of  his  body  to  the  top  of  a  pole  which  was  fastened 
in  the  ground,  and  to  the  upper  end  of  which  he  was 
fastened  by  a  cord  which  was  tied  to  the  splints.  In 
this  position  he  was  leaning  back,  with  nearly  the 
whole  weight  of  his  body  hanging  to  the  pole,  the 
top  of  which  was  bent  forward,  allowing  his  body  to 
sink  about  half-way  to  the  ground.  His  feet  were 
still  upon  the  ground,  supporting  a  small  part  of  his 
weight ;  and  he  held  in  his  left  hand  his  favorite  bow, 
and  in  his  right,  with  a  desperate  grip,  his  medicine- 
bag.  In  this  condition,  with  the  blood  trickling 
down  over  his  body,  which  was  covered  with  white 


STANDING  BUFFALO. 


AND   THE  I. \DIAN  WAR,  255 

and  yellow  clay,  and  amidst  a  great  crowd  who  were 
looking  on,  sympathizing  with  and  encouraging  him, 
he  was  hanging  and  'looking  at  the  sun,'  without 
paying  the  least  attention  to  any  one  about  him. 

MYSTERY    MEN. 

In  the  group  that  was  reclining  around  him  were 
several  mystery  men,  beating  their  drums  and 
shaking  their  rattles,  and  singing  as  loud  as  they 
could  yell,  to  encourage  him  and  strengthen  his 
heart  to  stand  and  look  at  the  sun,  from  its  rising  in 
the  morning  till  its  setting  at  night ;  at  which  time, 
if  his  heart  and  his  strength  have  not  failed  him,  he 
is  cut  down,  receives  the  liberal  donation  of  presents 
(which  have  been  thrown  into  a  pile  before  him 
during  the  day)  and  also  the  name  and  the  style  of 
a  doctor,  or  medicine-man,  which  lasts  him,  and 
ensures  him  respect,  through  life. 

"  This  most  ordinary  and  cruel  custom  I  never 
heard  of  amongst  any  other  tribe,  and  never  saw 
an  instance  of  it  before  or  after  the  one  I  have  just 
named.  It  is  a  sort  of  worship,  or  penance,  of  great 

OF    RARE    OCCURRENCE. 

cruelty,  disgusting  and  painful  to  behold,  with  only 
one  palliating  circumstance  about  it,  which  is,  that 
it  is  a  voluntary  torture  and  of  very  rare  occurrence. 
The  poor  and  ignorant,  misguided  and  superstitious 
man  who  undertakes  it  puts  his  everlasting  reputa 
tion  at  stake  upon  the  issue  ;  for  when  he  takes  his 
stand  he  expects  to  face  the  sun  and  gradually  turn 


2  5  6  LIFE  OF  SI TT1NG  BULL 

his  body  m  listless  silence  till  he  sees  it  go  down  at 
night ;  and  if  he  faints  and  falls,  ot  which  there  is 
.  imminent  danger,  he  loses  his  reputation  as  a  brave 
or  mystery  man,  and  suffers  a  signal  disgrace  in  the 
estimation  of  the  tribe,  like  all  men  who  have  the 
presumption  to  set  themselves  up  for  braves  or  mys 
tery  men  and  fail  justly  to  sustain  the  character." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

TOE  GHOST  DANCES. 

A  MEMORABLE  SEASON  IN  INDIAN  HISTORY — PROPHECIES  OF  THE  COMING 
OF  THE  MESSIAH — THE  GHOST  DANCES  INTENDED  TO  PREPARE  FOR  HIS 
ADVENT,  AND  TO  BRING  THE  PEOPLE  INTO  COMMUNICATION  WITH  HIM 
— PORCUPINE'S  STORY  OF  THE  MESSIAH  AND  HIS  COMMAND  FOR  THE 
DANCE. 

The  fall  of  1890  and  the  winter  of   1890-91  will 

GHOST     DANCES 

long  be  remembered  in  Indian  history  for  the  prac 
tice  of  "  Ghost  Dances  "  and  the  attendant  circum 
stances.  For  a  long  time  the  Sioux  and  other  tribes 
had  suffered  much  at  the  hand  of  the  whites,  and 
from  natural  causes.  Starvation  menaced  them,  and 
aid  and  justice  seemed  too  far  away  to  reach  them. 
Under  these  circumstances  they  turned  to  their 
medicine-men  for  supernatural  comfort.  They  were 
ready  to  grasp,  like  a  drowning  man,  at  any  straw 
of  hope  that  might  be  offered.  Great,  therefore,' 
was  their  excitement  when  some  of  their  prophets 
declared  that  their  Messiah  was  about  to  appear. 
From  time  immemorial  they  had  looked  forward  to 
the  coming  of  a  superhuman  leader,  sent,  like  Hia 
watha,  by  the  Great  Spirit.  He  was  to  call  from 

257 


258  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

CALL  THE  DEAD  TO  LIFE. 

the  dead  all  the  great  warriors  of  the  past  and  lead 
them  against  the  palefaces,  who  would  be  scattered 
before  his  wrath  like  dead  leaves  before  the  north 
west  hurricane.  He  would  restore  the  Indians  to 
their  old  supremacy  throughout  the  land,  bring  back 
the  countless  herds  of  buffalo,  an'd  give  the  world  a 
foretaste  of  the  Happy  Hunting  Grounds  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Ponemah,  the  Hereafter.  This  Mes 
siah,  too,  was  to  come  just  when  he  was  most  needed, 
just  when  the  Indians  were  most  afflicted  and  most 
oppressed. 

It  may  be  judged,  then,  with  what  eagerness  his 
advent  was  hailed  by  the  unhappy  red  men  in  the 
fall  of  1890,  and  with  what  zeal  they  entered  into  the 
"  Ghost  Dances  "  which  were  to  make  preparation 
for  his  coming.  From  tribe  to  tribe  and  nation  to 
nation  the  wild  excitement  spread.  Dances  were 
organized  everywhere,  until  from  Alaska  to  Mexico 
there  was  scarcely  an  Indian  settlement  that  did  not 
await  with  savage  rites  his  promised  coming. 

Among  the  Sioux  in  South  Dakota  the  mania  was 
strongest.  Not  many  whites  were  permitted  to  wit 
ness  the  dances  ;  but  some  were.  Among  them  was 

MRS.  FINLEY'S  ACCOUNT. 

Mrs.  J.  A.  Finley,  wife  of  the  postmaster  and  post- 
trader  at  the  Pine  Ridge  Agency.  She  went  out  to 
see  the  dances,  after  they  had  been  in  progress  for 
some  time.  One  Ghost  Dance  that  she  saw  was 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  259 

participated  in  by  480  Indians.  "  In  preparing  for 
the  dance  they  cut  the  tallest  tree  that  they  can  find, 
and  having  dragged  it  to  a  level  piece  of  prairie 
set  it  up  in  the  ground.  Under  this  tree  four  of  the 
head  men  stand.  Others  form  in  a  circle,  and  begin 
to  go  around  and  around  the  tree.  They  begin  the 
dance  on  Friday  afternoon.  It  is  kept  up  Saturday 
and  Sunday  until  sundown.  During  all  this  time 
they  do  not  eat  or  drink.  They  keep  going  round 
in  one  direction  until  they  become  so  dizzy  that  they 
can  scarcely  stand,  then  turn  and  go  in  the  other 
direction,  and  keep  it  up  till  they  swoon  from  exhaust 
ion.  This  is  what  they  strive  to  do,  for  while  they 
are  in  swoon  they  think  they  see  and  talk  with  the 
Messiah.  When  they  regain  consciousness  they  tell 
their  experiences  to  the  four  wise  men  under  the 
tree.  All  their  tales  end  with  the  same  story  about 
the  two  mountains  that  are  to  belch  forth  mud  and 
bury  the  white  man,  and  the  return  of  good  Indian 

LOSE  ALL  THEIR  SENSES. 

times.  They  lose  all  of  their  senses  in  the  dance. 
They  think  they  are  animals-  Some  get  down  on  all 
fours  and  bob  about  like  a  buffalo.  When  they  can 
not  lose  ciicii  Sv.n:se>  from  exhaustion  they 

BUTT  THEIR    HEADS  TOGETHER, 

beat  them  upon  the  ground,  and  do  anything  to  be 
come  insensible,  so  that  they  may  be  ushered  into 
the  presence  of  the  Messiah  One  poor  Indian  when 
he  recovered  his  senses  said  that  the  Messiah  had 


260  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

told  him  he  must  return  to  earth  because  he  had  not 
brought  with  him  his  wife  and  child.  His  child  had 
died  two  years  before,  and  the  way  the  poor  fellow 
cried  was  the  most  heart-rending  thing  I  ever  saw. 
At  the  end  of  the  dance  they  have  a  grand  feast,  the 
revel  lasting  all  Sunday  night.  They  kill  several 
steers  and  eat  them  raw,  drink,  and  gorge  them 
selves  to  make  up  for  their  fast. 

"  At  one  dance  one  of  the  braves  was  to  go  into  a 
trance  and  remain  in  this  condition  four  days.  At 
the  close  of  this  period  he  was  to  come  to  life  as  a 
buffalo — he  would  still  have  the  form  of  a  man,  but 
he  would  be  a  buffalo.  They  were  then  to  kill  the 
buffalo,  and  every  Indian  who  did  not  eat  a  piece  of 
him  would  become  a  dog.  The  man  who  was  to  turn 
into  a  buffalo  was  perfectly  willing.  If  the  Govern 
ment  just  lets  them  alone  there  will  be  no  need  of 
troops ;  they  will  kill  themselves  dancing.  Seven 
or  eight  of  them  died  as  the  result  of  one  dance 
near  Wounded  Knee." 

Mrs.  Finley  said  :  "  Every  Indian  had  about  four 
war  clubs  made  out  of  round  stones  twisted  in  raw 
hide.  They  threw  these  around  during  the  dance, 
strewed  the  ground  with  them  and  be. at  the  ir  heads 
against  them." 

Lieutenant  Gaston,  of  the  Eighth  U.  S.  Cavalry, 
was  one  of  the  army  officers  who  sought  to  check 
this  craze  and  to  restrain  the  Indians  from  the  mad 
ness  into  which  it  was  leading  them.  He  held  a 
conference  with  them  at  Tongue  River,  Montana, 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  26 1 

at  which  there  were  present  Spotted  Wolf,  Old 
Crow,  White  Elk,  Badger,  Porcupine  and  a  number 
of  other  Cheyenne  Sioux,  and  Fire  Crow,  an  Ogal- 
lalla  Sioux. 

THE    CONFERENCE. 

When  the  conference  came  together  Lieut.  Gas- 
ton  stated  the  precise  position  of  affairs  in  their 
section  of  the  country,  and  further  said  that  he  had 
learned  that  the  Indians  thought  Gen.  Miles  was  no 
longer  their  friend,  and  that  he  had  gone  away  and 
forgotten  them.  The  lieutenant  assured*  them  that 
this  was  not  so,  and  that  the  General  was  still  their 
friend,  although  he  had  ordered  into  their  posts  a 
number  of  soldiers,  with  instructions  to  remain 
friends  with  the  Indians  and  keep  them  out  of 
trouble,  and  at  the  same  time  the  lieutenant  told 
them  that  he  had  left  his  soldiers  behind  and  had 
come  to  the  agency  unarmed  to  act  as  their  friend. 

Porcupine  then  acose,  and,  evidently  with  a  con 
ception  that  he  was  a  most  majestic  power,  said  : 

"  I  will  answer  your  question  and  talk  a  little 
more.  To-day  I  have  heard  something  good.  1  have 
been  told  something  I  wanted  to  hear.  When  Gen. 
Miles  held  his  council  we  were  downhearted  for  fear 
we  would  be  moved,  but  to-day  1  feel  better,  for  I 
see  that  they  have  sent  from  Washington  to  find 
out  and  I  have  hope  ;  I  don't  think  you  are  telling 
us  lies.  All  who  live  along  the  river  are  cattle-men, 
and  when  they  meet  the  Cheyennes  and  their 
children  we  are  cursed  and  they  wish  the  Cheyennes 


262  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

to  be  far  away.  We  are  afraid  that  those  people 
who  are  living  around  here  will  fight  and  whip  us. 
I  heard  about  Gen.  Miles'  council,  but  I  was  not 
here  at  that  time.  Gen.  Miles,  as  I  understood  it, 
told  the  Cheyennes  he  would  be  their  friend  until 
he  had  white  hair,  white  beard  and  was  bent  double 
with  age.  The  Cheyennes  never  lost  these  words, 
and  we  remember  that  he  would  love  us  and  help 
us.  We  will  remember  this,  and  we  don't  mind  the 
ill-treatment  of  the  cowboys  when  we  have  Gen. 
Miles'  woyis  to  rely  upon. 

BAD   COWBOYS. 

"  The  country  is  overcrowded  with  cattle-men  who 
love  their  cattle,  and  when  these  men  treat  us  in  a 
bad  way  we  are  not  angry.  -If  Gen.  Miles  would 
arrange  it  so  that  the  cowboys  would  be  moved, 
then  it  would  be  nice  and  there  would  be  no  trouble. 
The  Cheyennes  carry  no  guns,  but  when  the  white 
men  go  around  they  carry  revolvers.  We  told 
Gen.  Miles  we  would  give  up  Tongue  River  if  we 
got  the  Little  Horn  on  the  Crow  reservation.  The 
(  hiefs  were  all  glad  to  do  this.  To-day  I  am  very 
glad  about  the  good  news  for  my  home  for  the 
future.  To-day  I  am  very  glad  because  I  was  told 
that  those  who  had  houses  could  not  have  their  land 
stolen  by  the  whites.  When  we  started  to  make 
fences  the  white  people  told  us  not  to,  for  it 
is  of  no  use,  for  we  will  be  sent  away.  We  are  in 
a  poor  condition. 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  263 

"  It  is  getting  cold.  The  Indians  are  shivering. 
They  would  like  to  get  their  blankets  now,  not 
next  summer.  If  I  talk  all  I  want  to  it  will  be  morn 
ing  before  I  stop,  but  I  will  only  tell  a  little  (referring 

THE    NEW     GOD. 

to  the  new  God),  and  I  want  the  soldiers  and  all  ot 
the  people  to  listen  well  to  what  I  have  to  say.  I 
went  to  Washington  myself  some  time  back.  I  saw 
the  Great  Father  and  came  back  and  told  my  people 
what  I  saw.  When  I  was  in  Washington  the  Great 
Father  told  me  I  must  not  fight,  but  must  love  the 
people  here.  Now  this  same  thing  has  been  told 
me  again.  I  did  not  see  at  first,  but  after  being  told 
these  things  I  went  around  among  the  people  and 
told  them  and  thought  then  I  would  settle  down. 
When  Upshaw  went  away  I  asked  him  for  a  pass, 
and  Upshaw  was  crazy :  he  would  not  give  it  to  me. 
I  was  told  about  this  new  God  by  the  Arapahoes.  It 
was  the  Shoshones  and  Arapahoes  that  went  over  to 
this  place  and  saw  this  God.  ^They  saw  a  holy  man 
and  he  talked  nice  words.  The  Arapahoes  told  me 
that  if  we  would  listen  to  this  new  God  he  would 
take  away  all  the  bad  things  and  give  us  the  nice 
things. 

"  Up  to  this  time  I  did  not  see  the  new  God,  but 
now  I  have  traveled  and  the  snow  was  very  deep. 
If  this  God  tells  the  Indians  not  to  fight  with  the 
whites  they  will  not  do  so.  I  went  on  the  train, 
traveled  a  long  distance,  and  now  I  will  tell  you  what 


264  LIF£  OF  SITTING  LULL 

the  God  said  when  we  got  there.  I  have  told  the 
soldiers  many  times,  and  I  don't  see  why  they  don't 
know. 

"  I  am  going  to  tell  about  the  dance.  When  this 
new  God  first  saw  me  he  called  us  all  to  come  to 
him. 

GOD'S  SPEECH. 

"  He  said :  *  My  children,  I  want  you  to  listen 
well  to  it.'  The  God  was  glad  that  I  came  to  see  him. 
Wheif  the  Indians  were  created  they  were  made  bad, 
but  that  badness  is  to  be  thrown  off  and  they  are  to 
be  made  good.  If  they  listen  to  him  he  will  change 
all  their  condition  and  make  them  good.  Everything 
is  now  very  old  and  there  are  now  very  few  Indians. 
Our  dances  were  bad  and  the  God  has  given  us  a 
new  dance.  We  must  not  get  tired  dancing.  Every 
one  must  dance — the  young  and  the  old,  the  men 
and  the  women,  the  boys  and  the  girls.  Four  nights 
in  succession  we  must  dance,  and  then  on  the  fifth 
day  we  must  dance  when  the  moon  is  just  round. 
When  we  are  through  dancing  we  must  go  to  our 
homes.  If  we  dance  this  way  we  will  never  get  tired. 
If  we  dance  our  gardens  will  grow  nice  and  we  will 
never  get  sick  or  crazy.  We  cannot  quarrel  or  scold 
each  other.  We  must  not  hate  each  other.  We 
must  love  all  the  world.  The  new  God  said,  '  My 
children,  listen  to  me  well.  The  one  that  does  not 
listen  to  me  will  die.  If  the  whites  or  Indians  do  not 
listen  those  will  die/  That  is  what  he  said.  If  any 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  265 

one  asks  me  I  must  tell  what  the  God  said.  I  must 
not  tell  lies.  The  lies  are  not  good.  The  God  hears 
everything  that  is  said  about  him.  If  the  soldiers 

WE    MUST    DANCE. 

won't  let  us  dance  we  must  dance  anyhow.  We 
must  dance  even  if  the  soldiers  beat  us  for  it.  We 
must  not  let  the  soldiers  see  the  dance.  First  God 
made  the  white  man  and  he  was  nice  ;  after  that 
God  went  to  Heaven,  and  after  awhile  came  down 
on  earth  and  talked  with  the  white  man.  The  white 
man  was  afraid  of  him.  He  saw  him  and  abused 
the  God,  and  he  did  not  do  anything  to  the  white 
man  or  get  angry,  and  then  they  nailed  him  on  a 
cross  and  cut  him  in  his  heart  and  abused  him. 
Then  the  God  said  he  was  going  up  to  Heaven 
again.  All  this  was  concerning  the  white  man.  The 
whites  work  six  days,  and  on  the  seventh  they  must 
tell  about  this  God.  This  God  said  if  we  live 
good  lives  we  would  not  become  poor.  When  this 
was  finished  he  went  up  into  Heaven.  Before  he 
went  up  into  Heaven  he  said  he  would  come  back 
for  the  Indians.  The  Indians  must  not  abuse  him 
when  he  comes  as  the  whites  did.  That  is  what  he 
said.  When  I  came  home  I  was  glad  and  called  all 
the  Indians  and  told  them  these  things.  I  told  them 
just  what  I  have  told  here.  I  told  all  the  Indians 
that  they  must  listen,  the  young  men  and  the  old 
men,  the  young  and  the  old  women,  all  must  listen 
well.  Then  we  danced  four  nights  and  the  fifth  day. 


266  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

We  must  work  if  the  whites  ask  us  to  work.  We 
must  say  yes  and  not  no.  It  will  please  the  God  if 
we  say  yes.  He  told  the  Indians  that  they  must  not 
quarrel  with  the  whites  or  kill  them.  We  must 
dance.  If  we  do  not  dance  we  will  get  crazy  and 
poor." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  INDIAN  MESSIAH. 

SINCERITY  OF  -TWF.  BELIEF  IN  HIM — WHEN  AND  WHERE  HE  WAS  FIRST 
HEARD  OF — PORCUPINE'S  VISIT  TO  HIM — WHAT  HE  SAID  TO  THE 
INDIANS — BAD  RECORD  OF  THE  •«  MESSIAH  " — His  COMPLICITY  IN  THE 
WHITE  RIVER  X\*ASSACRE — ANOTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  HIM. 

THERE  is  no  doubt  that  the  majority  of  the  Indians 
were  sincere  in  their  belief  in  their  Messiah.  Even 
the  well-educated  Sioux  believed  in  him.  One  of 
them,  Masse  Hadjo,  or  John  Daylight,  wrote  thus 
to  the  editor  of  The  Chicago  Tribune  in  reply  to 
some  rather  harsh  criticisms  of  the  mania : 

"  You  say,  '  If  the  United  States  army  would  kill 
a  thousand  or  so  of  the  dancing  Indians  there  would 
be  no  more  trouble.'  I  judge  by  the  above  language 
you  are  a  '  Christian,'  and  are  disposed  to  do  all  in 
your  power  to  advance  the  cause  of  Christ.  You 
are  doubtless  a  worshiper  of  the  white  man's  Sa 
viour,  but  are  unwilling  that  the  Indians  should  have 
a  '  Messiah'  of  their  own.  The  Indians  have  never 
taken  kindly  to  the  Christian  religion  as  preached 

and  practiced  by  the  whites.    Do  you  know  why  this 

267 


268  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

is  the  case  ?  Because  the  Good  Father  of  all  has 
given  us  a  better  religion — a  religion  that  is  all  good 
and  no  bad,  a  religion  that  is  adapted  to  our  wants. 
You  say  if  we  are  good,  obey  the  Ten  Command 
ments  and  never  sin  any  more,  we  may  be  permitted 
eventually  to  sit  upon  a  white  rock  and  sing  praises 
to  God  forevermore,  and  look  down  upon  our 
heathen  fathers,  mothers,  brothers  and  sisters  who 
are  howling  in  hell.  It  won't  do.  The  code  of 

WHITE    CODE    OF    MORALS. 

morals  as  practiced  by  the  white  race  will  not  com 
pare  with  the  morals  of  the  Indians.  We  pay  no 
lawyers  or  preachers,  but  we  have  not  one-tenth 
part  of  the  crime  that  you  do.  If  our  Messiah  does 
corne  we  shall  not  try  to  force  you  into  our  belief. 
We  will  never  burn  innocent  women  at  the  stake  or 
pull  men  to  pieces  with  horses  because  they  refuse 
to  join  in  our  ghost  dances.  You  white  people  had 
a  Messiah,  and  if  history  is  to  be  believed  nearly 
every  nation  has  had  one.  You  had  twelve  Apostles  ; 
we  have  only  eleven,  and  some  of  those  are  already 
in  the  military  guard-house.  We  also  had  a  Virgin 
Mary  and  she  is  in  the  guard-house.  You  are 
anxious  to  get  hold  of  our  Messiah,  so  you  can  put 
him  in  irons.  This  you  may  do— in  fact,  you  may 
crucify  him  as  you  did  that  other  one,  but  you  can 
not  convert  the  Indians  to  the  Christian  religion 
until  you  contaminate  them  with  the  blood  of  the 
white  man.  The  white  man's  heaven  is  repulsive  to 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  269 

the  Indian  nature,  and  if  the  white  man's  hell  suits 
you,  why,  you  keep  it.  I  think  there  will  be  white 
rogues  enough  to  fill  it." 

The  most  circumstantial  account  of  the  alleged 
Messiah  was  mad<;  by  Porcupine,  the  chief  quoted 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  to  Lieutenant  Robertson, 
of  the  First  U.  S.  Cavalry.  Lieutenant  Robertson 
made  the  following  report  of  it  to  General  Miles : 

PORCUPINE'S  ACCOUNT. 

1  'On  my  arrival  at  the  agency  I  put  myself  in 
immediate  communication  with  Porcupine,  the  apostle 
of  the  new  religion  among  the  Cheyennes,  and  with 
Big  Beaver,  who  accompanied  him  on  his  visit  to  the 
new  Christ  at  Walker  Lake,  Nev.,  in  1890.  Bear 
Ridge,  the  third  Cheyenne  who  made  this  trip,  is 
now  a  scout  at  Keogh.  When  questioned  as  to  the 
identity  of  the  '  fifteen  or  sixteen  tribes '  who  were 
at  the  Walker  Lake  meeting  in  1890,  Porcupine  said 
that  they  included  Cheyennes,  Sioux,  Arapahoes, 
Gros  Ventres,  Utes,  Navajoes,  Sheep  Eater  Ban 
nocks,  and  some  other  tribes  whose  names  he  did 
not  know.  He  says  all  of  the  Utah  Indians  had 
been  there  and  had  left  before  his  arrival.  He  is 
sure  there  were  no  tribes  from  Indian  Territory  rep 
resented  and  thinks  the  Sioux  were  the  most  eastern 
Indian  present. 

"  He  says  that  he  first  heard  of  this  new  Christ  at 
the  Arapahoe  (Shoshone)  Agency,  Wyoming,  where 
he  and  twelve  other  Cheyennes  went  on  a  visit  in 


270  LIFE  CF  SITTING  BULL 

1890.  An  Arapahoe  Indian  named  Sage,  who  had 
been  to  the  southwestern  country  in  1888,  told  them 
that  there  was  a  new  Christ  arisen  for  the  Indians ; 
told  where  he  could  be  found  and  explained  his 
doctrine  to  them.  Sage's  story  related,  Porcupine 
says,  to  the  man  he  himself  afterward  saw  near 
Walker  Lake.  Porcupine  goes  on  to  say  that  he 
and  the  other  Cheyennes  were  much  interested  and 
determined  to  see  this  Messiah ;  but,  as  all  couldn't 

TO    SEE   THE    MESSIAH. 

go  so  far,  nine  of  the  Cheyennes  were  sent  back  to 
the  Tongue  River  Reservation  to  tell  the  people 
what  they  had  heard.  Porcupine  and  the  other 
Cheyennes  went  on.  When  they  got  to  Utah  they 
received  large  accessions  to  their  caravan,  Indians 
joining  them  in  groups  at  different  points  en  route, 
so  that  when  the  final  meeting  took  place  at  Walker 
Lake  to  hear  the  new  Christ  speak,  there  were,  as 
near  as  Porcupine  could  estimate,  several  hundred 
Indians  present,  including  women  and  children. 

"The  rest  of  the  story  accorded  minutely  with 
that  of  last  summer.  He  especially  insists  that  the 
teachings  of  the  new  Christ  were  in  the  interest  of 
peace,  good  order  and  industry  on  the  part  of  the 
Indians.  I  asked  him  if  he  could  explain  how  it  was, 
then,  that  certain  Indian  tribes  had  made  this  new 
doctrine  a  basis  for  neglecting  their  crops,  indulging 
in  demoralizing  dances,  and  even  in  disorder,  as  had 
been  the  case  on  certain  reservations.  His  answer 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR. 

is  so  shrewd  and  touches  so  nearly  the  probable 
explanation  of  these  facts  that  I  recorded  it.  He 
said  that  the  Indians  who  had  gone  to  hear  this  new 
Christ  with  him  had  gone  hoping  to  hear  him  preach 
some  incendiary  doctrine,  and  that  they  were  dis 
appointed  at  hearing  that  the  new  creed  required 
them  simply  to  work  and  behave  themselves  ;  that, 
being  known  by  their  people  to  have  visited  this  new 
Messiah,  they  concluded  on  their  return  home  not 

ONLY   TELL   PART. 

to  relate  strictly  what  this  man  had  told  them,  but  to 
put  into  his  mouth  doctrines  more  agreeable  to  the 
Indians.  'These  men,'  said  Porcupine,  'are  all 
liars,  and  they  are  responsible  for  any  trouble  that 
occurs — not  the  new  Messiah.' 

"  Porcupine  says  also  that  the  Indians  do  not  follow 
the  new  Messiah's  advice,  '  to  dance  only  four  days 
at  the  beginning  of  each  new  moon,'  but  that,  on  the 

o  o 

contrary,  they  dance  without  moderation  and  lose 
their  heads  with  excitement. 

"  From  Henry  Reed,  the  Arapahoe  interpreter, 
information  was  obtained  which,  if  true,  would 
establish  the  identity  of  the  so-called  new  Messiah. 
Reed  says  this  '  new  Messiah '  is  a  Pah-Ute  Indian 
named  John  Johnson.  He  says  Johnson  is  very 
intelligent,  but  not  educated,  that  he  dresses  in 
white  men's  clothes  and  wears  his  hair  somewhat 
short,  though  not  nearly  so  short  as  a  white  man. 
He  is  quite  wealthy  in  cattle  and  horses.  This  man 


274  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

lives  on  the  Walker  Lake  (Pah-Ute)  Reservation, 
where  Reed  says  there  ought  to  be  no  difficulty 

MESSIAH  DESCRIBED. 

about  finding  him.  Reed  claims  to  know  this  man 
personally.  He  says  he  is  elderly,  and  has  as  a 
distinguishing  mark  both  wrists  tattooed.  There  is, 
he  says,  another  man  named  John  Johnson  in  the 
same  country,  but  this  second  Johnson  is  a  half- 
breed,  is  well  educated,  is  considerably  younger, 
and  could  not  be  mistaken  for  the  other  one,  who 
is  a  pure  blood  Pah-Ute.  Reed  seems  to  be  posi 
tive  as  to  the  identity  of  this  man  with  the  new 
Christ.  As  a  test  of  this  I  asked  Porcupine  after 
ward  if  the  new  Christ  had  any  especial  marks 
about  him  that  he  could  recognize.  He  immediately 
answered  that  as  the  new  Christ  sat  in  the  circle  he 
noticed  (pointing  to  both  wrists)  that  he  was  tattooed 
on  the  wrists  and  arms." 

Porcupine,  in  his  statement  of  his  visit  to  the  new 
Messiah  at  Walker  Lake  in  November,  1890,  says  : 

"  I  and  my  people  have  been  living  in  ignorance 
until  I  went  and  found  out  the  truth.  All  the  whites 
and  Indians  are  brothers,  I  was  told  there.  I  never 
knew  this  before. 

"  The  fish-eaters  near  Pyramid  Lake  told  me  that 
Christ  had  appeared  on  earth  again.  They  said 
Christ  knew  he  was  coming;  that  eleven  of  his  chil 
dren  were  also  coming  from  a  far  land.  It  appeared 
that  Christ  had  sent  for  me  to  go  there,  and  that 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  275 

was  why,  unconsciously,  I  took  my  journey ;  it  had 
heen  fore-ordained.  Christ  had  summoned  myself 
and  others  from  all  heathen  tribes,  two,  three,  or 
four  from  each  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  different  tribes. 

COUNCIL   CALLED. 

The  people  assembled,  called  a  council,  and  the 
chiefs'  sons  went  to  see  the  Great  Father,  who  sent 
word  to  us  to  remain  fourteen  days  in  that  camp,  and 
that  then  he  would  come  to  see  us.  He  sent  us  a 
small  package  of  something  white  to  eat  that  I  didn't 
know  the  name  of.  There  were  a  great  many  peo 
ple  in  the  council,  and  this  white  food  was  divided 
among  them.  The  food  was  a  big  white  nut.  Then 
1  went  to  the  agency  at  Walker  Lake,  and  they  told 
us  Christ  would  be  there  in  two  days.  At  the  end 
of  two  days,  on  the  third  morning,  hundreds  of  peo 
ple  gathered  at  this  place.  They  cleared  a  place 
near  the  agency  in  the  form  of  a  circus  ring,  and  we 
all  gathered  there.  This  space  was  perfectly  cleared 
of  grass,  etc.  We  waited  there  till  late  in  the  even 
ing,  anxious  to  see  Christ.  Just  before  sundown  I 
saw  a  great  many  people  (mostly  Indians)  coming, 
dressed  in  white  men's  clothes.  The  Christ  was 
with  them.  They  all  formed  in  this  ring.  They  put 
up  sheets  all  around  the  circle,  as  they  had  no  tents. 
Just  after  dark  some  of  the  Indians  told  me  that 
Christ  had  arrived.  I  looked  around  to  find  him,  and 
finally  saw  him  sitting  on  one  side  of  the  ring.  They 
all  started  toward  him  to  see  him  ;  they  ma$e  a  big 


276  OF  SITTING  BULL 

fire  to  throw  light  on  him  ;  I  never  looked  around, 
but  went  forward,  and  when  I  saw  him  I  bent  my 
head.  I  had  always  thought  the  Great  Father  was  a 
white  man,  but  this  man  looked  like  an  Indian.  He 
sat  there  a  long  time  and  nobody  went  up  to  speak 

MESSIAH'S  TALK. 

to  him.  He  sat  with  his  head  bowed  all  the  time. 
After  a  while  he  arose  and  said  he  was  very  glad  to 
see  his  children.  *I  have  sent  for  you  and  am  glad 
to  see  you.  I  am  going  to  talk  to  you  after  a  while 
about  our  relatives  who  are  dead  and  gone.  My 
children,  I  want  you  to  listen  to  all  I  have  to  say.  I 
will  teach  you,  too,  how  to  dance  a  dance,  and  I  want 
you  to  dance  it.  Get  ready  for  your  dance,  and  then 
when  the  dance  is  over  I  will  talk  to  you.'  He  was 
dressed  in  a  white  coat  with  stripes  ;  the  rest  of  his 
dress  was  a  white  man's  except  that  he  had  on  a 
pair  of  moccasins. 

4<  Then  we  commenced  our  dance — everybody 
joining  in — the  Christ  singing  while  we  danced.  We 
danced  till  late  in  the  night,  when  he  told  us  we  had 
danced  enough.  The  next  morning  after  breakfast 
was  over  we  went  into  the  circle  and  spread  grass 
over  it  on  the  ground,  the  Christ  standing  in  the 
midst  of  us.  He  told  us  he  was.going  away  that  day, 
but  would  be  back  the  next  morning  and  talk  to  us. 

"  la  the  night  when  I  first  saw  him  I  thought  he 
was  an  Indian,  but  the  next  day,  when  I  could  see 
better,  he  looked  different.  He  was  not  so  dark  as 


e  AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR. 

an  Indian,  nor  so  light  as  a  white  man ;  he  had  no 
beard  or  whiskers,  but  very  heavy  eyebrows ;  he  was 
a  good-looking  man.  We  were  crowded  up  very 
close.  We  had  been  told  that  nobody  was  to  talk, 
and  even  if  we  whispered  the  Christ  would  know  it. 
I  had  heard  that  Christ  had  been  crucified,  and  I 
looked  to  see,  and  I  saw  a  scar  on  his  wrist  and  one 
on  his  face,  and  he  seemed  to  be  the  man  ;  I  could 
not  see  his  feet.  He  would  talk  to  us  all  day.  That 
evening  we  all  assembled  again  to  see  him  depart. 
When  we  were  assembled  he  began  to  sing,  and  he 
commenced  to  tremble  all  over  violently  for  a  while, 
and  then  sat  down.  We  danced  all  that  night,  the 

APPARENTLY    DEAD. 

Christ  lying  down  beside  us  apparently  dead.  The 
next  morning  when  we  went  to  eat  breakfast  the 
Christ  was  with  us.  After  breakfast  four  heralds 
went  around  and  called  out  that  the  JChrist  was  back 
with  us,  and  wanted  to  talk  with  us.  The  circle  was 
prepared  again,  the  people  assembled,  and  Christ 
came  among  us  and  sat  down.  He  said  he  wanted 
to  talk  to  us  again  and  for  us  to  listen. 

"  He  said  :  '  I  am  the  man  who  made  everything 
you  see  around  you.  I  am  not  lying  toyo-u,  my  chil 
dren.  I  made  this  earth  and  everything  on  it.  \ 
have  been  to  Heaven  and  seen  your  dead  friends 
and  have  seen  my  own  father  and  mother.  In  the 
beginning,  after  God  made  the  earth,  they  sent  me 
back  to  te^ch  the  people,  and  when  I  came  back  on 


LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL  ;; 

earth  the  people  were  afraid  of  me  and  treated  me 
badly.  This  is  what  they  did  to  me  (showing  his 
scars).  I  did  not  try  to  defend  myself.  I  found  my 
children  were  bad,  so  went  back  to  Heaven  and  left 
them.  I  told  them  that  in  so  many  hundred  years  I 
would  come  back  to  see  my  children.  At  the  end  of 
this  time  I  was  sent  back  to  try  to  teach  them.  My 
father  told  me  the  earth  was  getting  old  and  worn 
out,  and  the  people  getting  bad,  and  that  I  was  to 
renew  everything  as  it  used  to  be  and  make  it  bet 
ter.'  He  told  us  that  all  our  dead  were  to  be  resur 
rected  ;  that  they  were  all  to  come  back  to  earth, 
and  that  as  the  earth  was  too  small  for  them  and  us 
he  would  do  away  with  Heaven  and  make  the  earth 
itself  large  enough  to  contain  us  all ;  that  we  must 
tell  all  the  people  we  met  about  these  things.  He 
spoke  to  us  about  fighting,  and  said  that  was  bad, 

MUST  ALL  BE  GOOD. 

and  we  must  keep  from  it ;  that  the  earth  was  to  be 
all  good  hereafter,  that  we  must  be  friends  with  one 
another !  He  said  that  in  the  fall  of  the  year  the 
youth  of  all  the  good  people  would  be  renewed,  so 
that  nobody  would  be  more  than  forty  years  old, 
and  that  if  they  behaved  themselves  well  after  this 
the  youth  of  every  one  would  be  renewed  in  the 
spring.  He  said  if  we  were  all  ^ood  he  would  send 
people  among  us  who  could  heal  all  our  wounds  and 
sickness  by  mere  touch,  and  that  we  would  live 
forever." 


AND   THE  INDTAN  WAR. 

This  Johnson,  the  alleged  Messiah,  has  been  for 
some  time  a  notorious  character  among  the  Indians. 
In  1878  the  Ute  tribe,  of  which  he  was  a  petty  chief, 
was  located  at  White  River  Agency,  in  Grand 
County,  Colorado.  The  head  chiefs  were  Douglas 
and  Jack,  while  the  head  chief  of  all  the  Ute  tribes 
was  Ouray,  who  lived  at  Los  Pinas  Agency,  some 
distance  from  White  River.  There  was  a  strong 
feeling  in  Colorado  that  the  Utes  must  go.  The 
miners  and  ranchmen  were  clamoring  for  the  rich 
mineral  deposits  supposed  to  be  slumbering  in  the 
mountains  and  the  grand  valleys  and  parks  where 
the  Indians  fished,  hunted,  picked  the  luscious  wild 
fruit  and  grazed  their  ponies.  It  was  the  same  old 
story.  The  Indians  are  a  thriftless  lot  anyhow ; 
they  have  no  use  for  this  grand  country.  In  May, 
1878,  N.  C  Meeker,  who  had  founded  the  town  of 
Greeley,  Col.,  under  the  patronage  of  Horace 
Greeley,  and  was  well  known  as  a  correspondent  for 
the  New  York  Tribune  over  the  signature  of 
N.  C.  M.,  was  put  in  charge  of  White  River  Agency. 

MEEKER    WAS    HONEST. 

That  Meeker  was  an  honest  man  no  one  doubted 
who  knew  him,  but  he  wholly  misunderstood  Indian 
character  and  had  Utopian  ideas  of  the  management 
of  Indian  affairs  that  ended  disastrously  to  himself. 
He  precipitated  the  bloodiest  massacre  ever  'per 
petrated  west  of  the  Missouri,  in  which  he  lost  his 
life  and  the  lives  of  all  whites  connected  with  his 


280  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

agency  except  those  of  his  wife,  daughter  and  a 
Mrs.  Price.  These  three  ladies  were  made  prisoners 
and  suffered  a  fate  of  outrage  and  indignity  to  which 
death  were  preferable.  The  "Messiah,"  who  in 
1890  was  promising  a  millennium  to  such  old  cut 
throats  as  Sitting  Bull,  Geronimo,  Jack,  Diah,  Colo- 
row,  Sa-rap-sah-patch,  Porcupine  and  Big  Beaver, 
was  prominent  in  the  White  River  massacre. 

Another  account  of  the  "Messiah"  was  given  by 
Mr.  J.  S.  Mayhugh,  lately  a  census  agent  among  the 
Nevada  Indians.  Writing  in  November,  1890,  he 
said  : 

"The  prophet  resides  in  Mason  Valley,  Esmeralda 
County,  Nev.,  close  to  the  Walker  River  Reserva 
tion.  His  name  is  Jack  Wilson,  known  among  all 
Indians  by  the  Indian  name  of  We  Vo  Kar  and  also 
Ko  We  Jo,  an  intelligent,  fine-looking  gentleman  of 
about  35  years  of  age,  who  goes  into  trances,  or 
seemingly  so,  for  twelve  to  fourteen  hours  in  the 
presence  of  large  numbers  of  Indians  upon  invitation 
of  a  prophet.  Upon  his  recovery  he  relates  to  them 
what  he  has  seen. 

BEEN   TO    HEAVEN. 

"  He  tells  them  he  has  been  to  heaven,  and  that 
the  Messiah  is  coming  to  the  earth  and  will  put  the 
Indians  in  possession  of  this  country;  that- he  has 
seen  in  heaven  a  heap  of  Indians,  some  of  whom 
are  dressed  in  white  men's  clothes.  He  counsels 
the  Indians  not  to  disturb  the  white  folks,  saying 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  28  I 

that  the  blanket  or  rabbit  skin  that  was  put  over  the 
moon  by  the  Indians  long  ago  would  soon  fall  off, 
and  then  the  moon,  which  is  now  afire,  will  destroy 
the  whites.  The  "  Messiah"  is  to  appear  on  Mount 
Grant,  which  is  a  very  large  mountain  and  is  about 
sixteen  miles  south  of  the  White  River  Agency 
buildings  and  on  the  west  side  of  the  lake.  Here  is 
where  the  first  Indians  appeared  according  to  their 
belief. 

"  I  visited  this  mountain  last  September  in  per 
formance  of  my  duty  as  special  census  agent  of  the 
Indians.  This  mountain  is  held  as  a  sacred  moun 
tain  to  the  Indians,  and  on  the  top  they  allege  they 

MOUNT   GRANT. 

can  see  footprints  of  their  first  father,  Numerna. 
If  I  may  be  permitted  to  suggest,  I  would  recom 
mend  that  all  the  Indians  be  permitted  to  visit  this 
mountain,  as  I  am  satisfied  they  will  only  send 
delegations  from  each  tribe  for  the  purpose  of 
ascertaining  the  truth  of  the  prophecy.  The  Indians 
of  Nevada  expect  delegations  from  most  of  the 
tribes  north  and  northwest,  and  Sitting  Bull  is 
expected.  The  only  fear  the  Nevada  Indians 
have  is  that  the  Government  will  interfere  with 
troops.  I  think  if  the  Indians  are  left  alone  at  the 
various  reservations  the  whole  thing  will  die.  All 
of  the  Indians  here  do  not  believe  in  the  prophet, 
although  Josephus,  the  chief  at  Walter  Lake,  believes 
it  to  be  so." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

INDIAN  WARS 

A  SHAMEFUL  RECORD— A  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  SPENT  FOR  EVERY  INDIAN 
IN  THE  COUNTRY— THE  LONG  CATALOGUE  OF  CONFLICTS  AND  EX 
PENSES — FEARFUL  COST  IN  LIFE  AND  LIMB  AS  WELL  AS  MONEY  AND 
NATIONAL  HONOR. 

The  story  of  our  dealing  with  the  Indians  is  a 
story  of  wars,  and  the  story  of  these  wars  is  a 
story  of  expense,  of  barbarity  and  of  shame.  The 
sum  total  of  cost  of  life  and  treasure  is  appalling. 
Not  long  ago  a  writer  in  St.  Louis  Globe- Democrat 
reckoned  that  the  Government  had  been  put  to  an 

ONE  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  AN  INDIAN. 

expense  of  $1,000  for  every  Indian  that  was  in  the 
country  when  the  Pilgrims  landed  at  Plymouth. 
The  statement  seemed  extravagant ;  but  was  really 
borne  out  by  facts.  There  were  not,  probably, 
more  than  a  million  Indians  in  the  whole  country  in 
1620;  and  down  to  1886  very  nearly  a  thousand 
million  dollars  had. been  spent  on  them. 

Mr.  Donaldson,    a  Goverment  census  agent,  has 
shown  by  actual  records  that  from  July  4th,  1776, 
to  June  30th,  1886,  the  Indians  had  cost  the  Gov- 
282 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  283 

ernment  $929,239,284.02.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the 
four  years  a'dded  to  the  record  since  Mr.  Donald 
son's  researches  will  bring  the  figures  close  up  to 
one  thousand  millions.  This  enormous  sum  is 

ASTOUNDING  FIGURES. 

about  one-third  of  what  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  cost. 
One-third  of  the  one  thousand  millions  has  been 
spent   in  pacifying  and   civilizing   Indians.      Two- 
thirds  of  the  one  thousand  millions  have  been  ab 
sorbed  in  fighting  Indians.     Here  is  the  account : 
Total  cost  of  the  Indians  to  the  United  States : 
Indian   Department  proper,  from 

July  7,  1776,  to  June  30,  1886,      $232,900,006.34 
Expended  by  War  Department  for 
Indian  wars  and  incidental  there 
to,  from  July  4.  1 776,  to  June,  1 886,  696,339,277.68 

Grand  Total  cost  of  Indians,  $929.239,284.02 
These  figures  are  not  too  large.  They  probably 
underestimate  the  cost  to  the  Government  of  the 
Indian  wars.  In  March,  1882,  the  Senate  called  on 
the  Secretary  of  War  for  the  cost  of  the  Indian 
wars  for  ten  years.  The  period  covered  was  from 
1872  to  1882.  The  Secretary  reported  that  it  was 

COST  OF  WAR. 

$202,994,506.  Wars  come  high.  They  come 
higher  of  late  years  than  they  did  forty  or  fifty  years 
ago.  The  United  States  fought  England  from  1812 
to  1815,  and  spent  only  $66,614,912.34.  The  cost 
of  the  Mexican  war,  1846-1849,  was  $73,941,735.12. 


284  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

These  two  foreign  wars  were  carried  through  with 
an  expenditure  of  $140,00,0,000.  But 'ten  years  of 
Indian  fighting,  from  1872  to  1882,  cost  $202.994,- 
506.  It  appears  that  Indian  wars  come  highest  of 
a!L 

Senator  Doolittle,  of  Wisconsin,  once  ventilated 
this  Indian  war  business.  He  was  in  the  Senate 
when  it  was  proposed  to  negotiate  a  peace  with  the 
Navajoes.  Several  other  Senators  demurred  to  the 
cost  of  the  proposed  treaty.  Mr.  Doolittle  told 
them  something  about  the  cost  of  Indian  Wars.  At 
the  same  time  he  gave  some  interesting  facts  about 
the  origin  of  these  Indian  wars.  What  is  known  as 
the  great  Sioux  war  started  in  1852.  At  that  time 
there  was  perfect  peace  on  the  plains.  Some  Mor 
mons  were  driving  their  cattle  toward  Salt  Lake. 
Near  Fort  Laramie  was  a  gathering  of  Indians. 
The  military  post  was  there,  and  the  Indians  were' 
camped  near  it.  One  of  the  Sioux  killed  a  cow  be- 

TWENTY  SOLDIERS  FOR  A  COW. 

longing  to  a  Mormon.  The  emigrant  complained. 
The  officer  in  command  at  the  post  sent  out  a  sub 
ordinate  with  twenty  men.  This  little  force  went 
to  the  Indian  camp  and  demanded  the  surrender  of 
the  Sioux  who  had  killed  the  cow.  The  alternative  was 
that  the  camp  would  be  fired  uppn.  The  Indians 
replied  to  the  demand  :  "  We  are  willing  to  pay 
for  this  animal ;  we  will  pay  you  in  buffalo  robes  or 
buffalo  skins."  The  army  officer  declined.  He  re 
peated  his  demand  for  the  immediate  surrender. 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  285 

The  Indians  refused.  The  officer  gave  the  order  to 
fire.  The  twenty  men  obeyed.  In  twenty  minutes 
the  soldiers  were  killed  and  scalped.  That  was 
the  beginning  of  the  Sioux  war  of  1852.  The  war 
lasted  three  or  four  years.  It  cost  the  United  States 
between  $15,000,000  and  $20,000,000. 

The  Navajo  was  another  which  Senator  Doolittle 
told  about.  For  many  years  after  this  Government  ac 
quired  the  territory  in  which  the  Navajoes  lived  there 
was  no  trouble.  One  day  a  Navajo  Indian  was  visiting 
the  fort  where  the  troops  were.  He  got  into  a  quar- 

TWENTY  MILLION  DOLLARS  FOR  A  NEGRO. 

rel  with  a  negro  boy  belonging  to  one  of  the  officers. 
The  supposition  was  that  the  negro  insulted  the  Indi 
an.  The  latter  drew  his  bow  and  put  an  arrow  into  the 
negro,  killing  him.  Then  he  fled  to  his  tribe.  The  offi 
cer  sent  a  demand  for  the  surrender  of  the  Indian 
The  tribe  refused  to  give  him  up.  Without 
any  delay  the  troops  were  marched  out  and  war 
was  begun.  Three  campaigns  were  made  against 
the  Navajoes  on  this  provocation.  The  United 
States  troops  were  beaten  in  each  of  them.  This 
Navajo  war  cost  the  Government  nearly  $20,000,- 
ooo. 

One  more  illustration  was  furnished  by  the  Sena 
tor.    He  told  how  the  Cheyenne  and  Arapahoe  war 
began.     Some  cattle  had  been  stolen.     It  was  sup- 
|  posed  that  the  Indians  had  taken  them.    A  Lieuten- 
1  ant  was  sent  out  with  a  detachment  from  the  post. 
His  instructions  were  peculiar.     He  was  ordered  to 


286  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL. 

follow  the  Indians  and  disarm  them — not  to  demand 
the  cattle  or  reparation,  but  to  take  the  arms  of  the 
Indians.  The  little  command  was  to  start  without 
any  interpreter.  The  Lieutenant  overtook  the  In 
dians.  He  had  no  means  of  communication  but 
signs.  He  tried  to  take  away  from  them  their  bows 
and  arrows.  What  was  the  result  ?  A  fight,  of 
course  ;  and  so  the  bloody  Cheyenne  and  Arapahoe 
war  began. 

THE  BIGGEST  WAR, 

The  biggest  of  all  recent  Indian  wars  was  the  one 
about  which  least  was  published.  It  occurred  dur 
ing  the  Civil  War.  There  was  so  much  fighting 
going  on  between  white  men  that  the  campaign 
against  the  Sioux  in  the  Northwest  was  only  a  side 
show.  This  war  began  in  1862.  It  had  its  origin 
in  a  comparatively  insignificant  matter.  A  con 
tractor  for  furnishing  Indian  supplies  sent  to  the 
Sioux  agencies  what  was  supposed  to  be  prime 
mess  pork.  The  consignment  was  found  to  consist 
largely  of  heads  of  hogs.  The  Indians  went  back 
on  such  rations  and  took  the  warpath  instead  of  the 
souse.  Generals  Sibley  and  Sully  conducted  the 
campaign.  They  had  15,000  troops  under  them. 
It  was  in  this  Sioux  war  that  the  ''Galvanized  Yan- 
kees,"  as  they  were  called,  made  their  appearance. 
There  were  several  regiments  of  these  ''Galvanized 
Yankees,"  and  they  did  good  service  against  the 
Sioux.  It  may  be  explained  that  "  Galvanized  Yan 
kees"  were  Confederate  prisoners  who  took  the 


AND  THE  INDIAN  IV A R.  287 

oath  of  allegiance  and  enlisted  in  these  regiments 
to  fight  Indians  in  preference  to  remaining  in  North 
ern  prisons. 

Not  being  hampered  by  the  humanitarians  and  the 
philanthropists,  General  Sibley  adopted  a  very  vig- 

HUNG  THEM. 

orous  Indian  policy.  As  he  made  prisoners  he  se 
lected  the  worst  and  hung  them.  As  many  as  thirty 
braves  were  made  "good  Indians"  by  the  rope 
route  in  one  day. 

There  is  "  a  record  of  engagements  with  hostile 
Indians  within  the  military  division  of  the  Missouri 
from  1868  to  1882."  In  the  recapitulation  of  this 
record  it  is  stated  that  "more  than  1,000  officers 
and  soldiers  were  killed  or  wounded"  in  the  Indian 
fighting  of  that  period.  Four  hundred  battles  and 
skirmishes  were  fought  with  Indians  in  the  fourteen 
years. 

In  1886  the  Senate  sent  a  resolution  to  the  Secre 
tary  of  War,  asking:  "What  has  been  the  cost  to 
the  Government  during  the  last  ten  years  of  so 
much  of  the  army  as  has  been  engaged  in  the  ob 
servation  or  control  of  Indians,  or  whose  presence 
has  been  rendered  necessary  as  a  protection  from 
danger  of  Indian  hostilities? 

COST  IN  TEN  YEARS. 

The  Secretary  replied  that  the  total  cost  of  the 
troops  in  the  Indian  country  from  1876  to  1886  has 
been  $223,891,264,50. 

In   1868   and    1869   there  was  a  lively  Indian  war 


288  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

in  what  is  now  the  Indian  Territory  and  Oklahoma, 
Between  1862  and  1868  there  had  been  murdered 
by  the  Indians  800  settlers  in  the  Southwest.  On 
the  2d  of  March,  1868,  this  war  to  punish  the  Chey- 
ennes,  Arapahoes  and  Commanches  began.  It  ended 
on  the  gth  of  February  following.  Three  hundred 
and  fifty-three  officers,  soldiers  and  citizens  were 
killed,  wounded  or  captured  in  the  eleven  months' 
campaign.  The  Indian  loss  was  319  killed,  289 
wounded  and  52  captured.  The  actual  field  opera 
tions  during  the  eleven  months  cost  $1,057,515.57. 
The  Modoc  war  in  the  lava-beds  cost  the  army 
1 1 1  soldiers  killed  or  wounded.  The  chief  incident 
of  this  campaign  was  the  assassination  of  General 
Canby.  Seventeen  citizens  were  killed  or  wounded. 
The  record  which  was  sent  to  the  Senate  by  the 
War  Department  says  :  "  No  Indians  reported 
killed." 

INDIAN  LOSSES. 

So  far  as  losses  were  concerned  the  Indians  usu 
ally  liad  the  best  of  it.  In  the  record  of  1868-1882 
an  explanation  of  the  comparatively  small  number 
of  Indians  killed  was  offered  by  the  War  Depart 
ment.  This  explanation  was  that  the  Indians  car 
ried  off  their  dead  and  wounded  whenever  that  was 
possible,  and  so  concealed  the  number.  This  may 
be  so.  But  the  conclusion  of  Senator  Doolittle  was 
that  Indian  wars  were  not  only  enormously  expen 
sive,  but  also  very  unprofitable  when  the  small 
number  of  dead  Indians  was  considered. 


tit 


1 


Prom  Photograph*  taken  on  the  spot  by  the  Philadelphia  Prett  Artist. 

JOHNSON,  THE  ALLEGED  MESSIAH, 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  2QI 

The  Apache  campaign  of  1873  was  one  in  which 
the  army  made  a  good  score.  The  loss  of  soldiers 
was  only  4  ;  84  Indians  were  reported  killed. 

In  1874  a  campaign  was  carried  on  against  the 
Kiowas,  Commanches,  and  Cheyennes  in  the  South 
west.  The  net  results  were  24  killed  or  wounded 
soldiers  and  84  dead  Indians. 

THE  SIOUX  WAR  OF  1876. 

The  Sioux  war  of  1876  cost,  for  the  actual  field 
expenses,  $2,3 12.531.  But  the  campaign  was  chiefly 
notable  for  the  Custer  massacre.  The  army  loss 
was  283  killed  and  125  wounded.  The  Indian  loss 
was  only  85.  Had  Sibley's  policy  toward  the  Sioux 
been  continued  Sitting  Bull  and  other  Sioux  leaders 
would  have  ornamented  gallow-trees  and  there 
would  have  been  no  ghost-dancing  in  1890.  The 
Custer  massacre  was  never  atoned  for.  The  guns 
which  the  Indians  took  from  the  soldiers  are  still  in 
their  possession 

The  Nez  Perces  war  of  1877  lasted  three  months. 
It  cost  according  to  the  report  made  by  the  Quarter 
master  General,  the  snug  sum  of  $931,329.52. 
That  was  a  good  deal  more  than  $1,000  apiece  for 
the  Indian  braves  engaged  in  it.  This  was  the  cam 
paign  which  General  Sherman  described  in  his  re 
port  as  "  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  Indian  wars 
of  which  there  is  any  record." 

The  Nez  Perces  lived  in  a  valley  in  Eastern  Ore 
gon.  They  occupied  land  which,  from  its  extraordi 
nary  fertility  and  adaptability  for  irrigation,  is  now 


2Q2  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL. 

worth  from  $50  to  $75  an  acre,     That  ought  to  be 

HOW  IT  OCCURRED, 

a  sufficient  sxplanation  of  the  way  hostilities  came 
about.  Two  bad  white  men  killed  a  good  Indian. 
Two  bad  Indians  killed  a  good  white  man.  Troops 
were  sent  to  the  Nez  Perces  camp  and  were  whipped 
with  a  loss  of  a  Lieutenant  and  thirty-three  soldiers. 
Then  followed  the  Nez  Perces  war.  Chief  Joseph 
commanded  the  tribe.  General  Howard  took  the  field 
in  person  with  the  army.  The  opening  engagement 
already  referred  to,  was  fought  June  lyth.  The 
Indians  were  encumbered  with  their  women  and 
children.  The  troops  had  the  resources  of  the  Gov 
ernment  to  draw  upon.  Yet  for  three  months  the 
chief  baffled  and  outwitted  the  General. 

"  The  Indians  throughout,"  said  General  Sherman 
in  his  report,  "  displayed  a  courage  and  skill  that 
elicited  universal  praise,  They  abstained  from 
scalping,  let  captive  women  go  free,  did  not  commit 
indiscriminate  murder  of  peaceful  families,  which  is 
usual,  and  fought  with  almost  scientific  skill,  using 
advance  and  rear  guards,  skirmish  lines,  and  real 
fortifications." 

The  campaign  began  in  Eastern  Oregon.  It 
moved  by  a  zigzag  across  Idaho  into  Montana  and 
crossed  the  Missouri  River  two  or  three  times.  The 

EXTENT  OF  THE  FIELD, 

fc 

marching  and  countermarching  extended  from  the 
National  Park  almost  to  the  Dominion  line. 
After  Howard  had  been  in  the  field  for  about  six 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  293 

weeks  he  telegraphed  Sherman  that  his  troops  were 
worn  out.  He  suggested  that  he  go  back  to  the 
country  from  which  he  had  started  and  that  the 
Generals  east  of  the  mountains  try  their  hands  on 
wily  Chief  Joseph.  General  Sherman  was  at  Hel 
ena.  He  replied  : 

"  I  don't  want  to  give  orders,  as  that  may  confuse 
Sheridan  and  Terry.  But  that  force  of  yours  should 
pursue  the  Nez  Perces  to  the  death,  lead  where 
they  may." 

Howard  resumed  active  operations.  He  followed 
the  Nez  Perces  over  1,400  miles  and  then  failed  to 
be  in  at  "  the  death."  Miles,  who  had  been  attend 
ing  to  the  Sioux,  fell  on  Chief  Joseph,  and  his  band 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  National  Park.  He  killed  six 
chiefs  and  a  lot  warriors  and  captured  all  of  the 
others.  The  wind-up  was  on  the  3Oth  of  Septem 
ber. 

In  that  campaign  241  officers  and  soldiers  were 
killed  and  wounded.  Twelve  citizens  were  killed. 
The  Indians  loss  was  158. 

The  Bannock  war  of  1878  was  a  small  affair.  It 
cost  only  $556,636.19,  When  it  was  ended  the 
record  showed  a  loss  of  twenty-four  to  the  army, 
thirty  citizens  murdered,  and  seventy-four  Indians 
killed. 

The  Northern  Cheyenne  outbreak  of  1879  en 
tailed  a  loss  on  the  army  of  thirty-two  killed  and 
wounded.  No  Indians  were  reported  killed. 

Since  1882,  down  to  1890,  the  only  Indian  fighting 


LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 


was  with  the  little  squads  of  Apaches  in  Arizona 
and  New  Mexico.  For  every  Apache  run  down  and 
killed  or  captured  the  Government  is  said  to  have 
spent  $100,000. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  FIRST  SIOUX  WAR. 

PROVOKED  BY  WHITE  MEN— NARRATIVE  OF  ONE  WHO  WAS  THERE- 
INDESCRIBABLE  OUTRAGES  PERPETRATED  BY  THE  SAVAGES  UPON 
WOMEN  ARD  CHILDREN— A  CITY  OF  DEATH— GENERAL  SIBLEY'S 
CAMPAIGN — SENTENCES  OF  THE  RINGLEADERS. 

It  was  in  August,  1862,  that  the  first  great  trouble 
with  the  Sioux  Indians  occurred,  and  it  was  one  of 
the  ghastliest  episodes  in  the  whole  history  of  sav 
age  warfare.  A  detailed  narrative  of  it  has  been 
given  by  Isaac  V.  D.  Heard,  who  was  a  member  of 
the  expedition  that  was  sent  to  quell  the  uprising, 
but  there  is  much  of  it  that  cannot  be  repeated  here. 
The  story  is  too  horrible,  the  nameless  crimes  com 
mitted  too  frightful,  to  record  in  print. 

The  outbreak  was  provoked,  as  about  all  others 
have  been,  by  the  infamous  injustice  of  the  whites 
The  four  Indians  to  whom  the  beginning  of  the 
bloodshed  is  credited  by  Heard  were  belonging  to 
Shakopee's  village,  at  the  mouth  of  Rice  Creek. 
They  were  on  their  way  to  Acton  when  they  at 
tacked  and  killed  two  men  named  Baker  and  Web* 
•ter,  a  Mr.  Jones  and  wife,  and  a  Miss  Wilson, 


396  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

Having  accomplished  these  murders,  they  hastened 
to  Shakopee's  village  and  informed  the  rest  of  the 
tribe  what  they  had  done.  A  general  massacre  of 
the  whites  was  immediately  resolved  upon,  and 
messengers  were  sent  to  the  bands  of  Wabashaw, 
Waconta,  and  Red  Legs.  The  Shakopee  band  then 
proceeded  to  the  agency  under  Little  Crow,  their 
chief.  The  village  was  entered  in  small  parties,  and 
the  houses  and  stores  surrounded.  The  discharge 
of  a  gun  was  to  be  the  signal  for  simultaneous  at 
tack.  This  given,  the  hideous,  painted  savages, 
with  mad  shouts  and  wild  shrieks,  began  the  slaugh 
ter  and  plunder.  Age,  sex,  former  friendships  or 
kindnesses  availed  nothing.  Every  building  but  two 
at  the  agency  was  burned.  The  massacre  extended 
down  the  river  on  both  sides,  below  the  fort,  to 
within  six  miles  of  New  Ulm,  and  up  the  river  to 
Yellow  Medicine.  Large  numbers  perished  at 
Beaver  and  Sacred  Heart  Creeks.  Parties  of  men, 
women,  and  children  were  intercepted  in  their  flight 
and  mercilessly  slaughtered  and  mutilated. 

SAVAGE   BRUTALITY. 

Near  New  Ulm,  a  father  and  his  two  sons  were 
stacking  wheat,  when  twelve  Indians  approached 
unseen  and  killed  the  three.  Then  they  entered 
the  farmer's  house  and  killed  two  of  his  young 
children  in  the  presence  of  their  mother,  who  was 
ill  with  consumption,  and  dragged  the  mother  and 
a  daughter,  aged  thirteen  years,  miles  away  to  their 
camp.  There,  in  the  presence  of  her  dying  mother, 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  297 

they  tortured  the  girl  with  indescribable  brutalities, 
until  death  came  to  her  relief. 

One  Indian  went  into  a  house  where  a  woman 
was  making  bread.  Her  small  child  was  in  the 
cradle.  He  split  the  mother's  head  open  with  his 
tomahawk,  and  placed  the  babe  in  the  hot  oven  until 
it  was  almost  dead,  when  he  beat  its  brains  out 
against  the  wall. 

Children  were  nailed  living  to  tables  and  doors, 
and  knives  and  tomahawks  thrown  at  them  until 
they  were  dead.  Cut-Nose,  one  of  the  chiefs, 
when  brought  to  trial,  acknowledged  several  of 
his  atrocities,  among  which  was  the  following :  A 

TERRIFIC   BUTCHERY. 

party  of  settlers  were  gathered  together  for  flight ; 
the  helpless  and  defenseless  women  and  children 
being  huddled  together  in  wagons.  The  men  having 
been  killed,  Cut-Nose,  while  two  other  Indians  held 
the  horses,  leaped  into  one  of  the  wagons,  and  in 
cold  blood  tomahawked  them  all — cleft  open  the 
head  of  each,  while  the  others,  stupefied  with  horror 
and  powerless  with  fright,  as  they  heard  the  heavy, 
dull  blows  crash  and  tear  through  flesh  and  bones, 
awaited  their  turn.  Taking  an  infant  from  its 
mother's  arms,  before  her  eyes,  with  a  bolt  from 
one  of  the  wagons,  the  Indians  riveted  it  through 
its  writhing  little  body  to  the  fence,  and  left  it  there 
to  die  in  agony.  The  mother  was  kept  alive  and 
made  to  witness  this  agonizing  spectacle,  after 
which  they  chopped  off  her  arms  and  legs,  and  left 


298  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

her  to  bleed  to  death.  Thus  Cut-Nose  and  Ms 
band  ruthlessly  butchered  twenty-five  persons  within 
a  quarter  of  an  acre,  and  then  kicking  the  bodies 
out  of  the  wagons,  they  filled  them  with  plunder 
from  the  burning  houses  and  pushed  on  for  nfore 
adventures. 

An  old  Indian,  shriveled  almost  to  a  mummy, 
when  placed  on  trial,  was  confronted  by  two  little 
boys,  his  accusers.  Looking  at  him  a  moment,  one 
of  them  said,  "  I  saw  that  Indian  shoot  a  man  while 
he  was  on  his  knees  at  prayer ;"  and  the  other  boy 
said,  "  I  saw  him  shoot  my  mother." 

The  hands,  feet,  and  heads  of  the  victims  were,  in 
many  cases,  cut  off,  their  hearts  ripped  out,  and 
other  disgusting  mutilations  inflicted.  Whole  fami 
lies  were  burned  alive  in  their  homes. 

OVER  700  MURDERS  IN  A  WEEK. 

The  outrages  for  the  first  few  days  w;ere  confined 
to  the  vicinity  of  New  Ulm  and  Fort  Ridgely,  but 
soon  the  depredations  extended  throughout  the 
whole  Western  frontier  of  Minnesota,  and  into  Iowa 
and  Dakota.  Over  700  persons  perished  in  about 
a  week,  and  more  than  200  were  made  captives,  and 
in  every  case  the  women  were  brutally  treated. 

One  little  girl,  only  ten  years  old,  who  had  re 
ceived  several  wounds  at  the  hands  of  the  savages, 
was  treated  with  the  most  repulsive  bestiality  from 
day  to  day  until  she  was  nearly  lifeless.  Another 
little  girl,  aged  nine,  was  treated  still  more  brutally, 
her  person  being  shamefully  mutilated  by  the 


AND    THE* INDIAN  WAR.  299 

savages.  Imagination  cannot  depict  the  enormities 
perpetrated  upon  these  poor  women.  Shooting  ar 
rows  into  defenseless  women  and  children  consti 
tuted  a  favorite  amusement  of  the  younger  warriors. 
In  the  Norwegian  Grove  back  of  Henderson,  one 
of  their  grossest  and  most  wanton  outrages  was 
committed.  Stripping  a  captive  naked,  they  fas-  . 
tened  her  arms  and  legs  to  the  ground  by  tying  them 
to  stakes.  They  subjected  her  for  hours  to  inde 
scribable  outrages,  and  then,  when  she  was  fainting 
from  her  exhaustion,  they  sharpened  a  rail  and 
drove  it  through  her  body,  leaving  her  to  die  in 
most  horrible  and  excrutiating  torments. 

SAVAGE  FURY. 

The  bold  frontiersmen  made  many  determined 
stands  for  their  homes  and  lives,  but  with  little 
avail.  The  savage  fury  and  overwhelming  numbers 
of  the  Sioux  carried  everything  before  them,  and  „ 
the  pale- face  found  hope  only  by  taking  to  the 
brush,  where  many  of  them  died  of  starvation. 
White  men  then  fought  under  very  great  disadvan 
tage.  They  were  few,  resolute,  and  bold ;  but  there 
is  something  so  fiendish  in  the  Indians'  yells  and 
terrifying  in  their  wild  appearance  in  battle,  that  it 
takes  a  good  deal  of  time  to  overcome  the  unpleas 
ant  sensation  it  inspires.  There  is  a  snake-like 
stealth  in  all  their  movements  that  excites  distrust 
and  uncertainty,  and  which  unsteadies  the  nerves  at 
first. 

Finally  the  news  of  the  horrible  outrages  reached 


300  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

St.  Paul,  and  troops  were  raised  and  sent  out 
against  the  Indians,  with  Col.  Sibley  in  command  of 
the  expedition.  The  forces  under  Sibley  amounted 
to  i, 400  men,  and  in  their  upward  march  through 

STREAM  OF  FUGITIVES. 

the  valley  they  met  a  stream  of  fugitives  far  out 
numbering  those  who  were  going  to  their  relief. 
Shakopee,  Belle  Plain,  Henderson,  and  St.  Peter's 
were  filled  with  fugitives  from  the  scenes  of  massa 
cre,  and  each  of  these  villages  in  momentary  expec 
tation  of  an  attack  from  the  savages.  Oxen  were 
killed  in  the  streets  of  the  latter  place,  and  hastily 
prepared  over  fires  on  the  ground.  The  grist  mills 
were  surrendered  to  the  public  use.  All  thought  of 
property  was  abandoned,  women  hung  upon  each 
other's  necks  weeping,  and  the  surviving  terror- 
stricken  children  were  crying  piteously  around  their 
knees.  Houses  and  stables  alike  were  occupied, 
and  hundreds  were  without  any  shelter.  Belle  Plain 
was  crowded,  too,  so  was  Mankato,  so  was  Shako- 
pee.  Panic  existed  throughout  the  whole  valley. 
And  the  safety  of  those  towns,  with  the  thousands 
of  lives  within,  depended  upon  Col.  Sibley's  success. 

SICKENING  SIGHTS. 

Detachments  of  mounted  and  foot  soldiers  were 
dispatched  to  New  Ulm  and  Fort  Ridgely,  the  prin 
cipal  centres  of  the  slaughter.  The  New  Ulm  de 
tachment  cautiously  approached  the  town,  expecting 
to  cut  their  way  through  the  beleaguering  Indians, 
and  to  be  received  with  the  cheers  and  hospitality 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  30! 

of  the  people ;  but  no  sound  greeted  their  ears. 
Soon  they  saw,  thickly  scattered  around,  vast  swol 
len  carcases  of  cows  and  oxen  and  horses,  perfor 
ated  with  bullets.  •  Presently  they  came  upon  the 
blackened  remains  of  burnt  buildings.  Across  the 
principal  street  lay  the  naked,  headless  body  of  a 
man,  swollen  like  the  cattle,  and  blackened  in  the 
sun,  the  head  cut  off  and  scalped,  and  tumbled  some 
distance  from  the  trunk.  Off  the  street  were  new- 
made  graves.  The  doors  of  standing  houses  were 
ajar.  Every  place  was  silence,  every  place  the  con 
fusion  of  a  hasty  departure.  With  drawn  swords 
and  pistols  the  soldiers  rushed  up  and  down  the 
streets  of  the  deserted  city.  Friend  and  foe  had 
departed. 

The  Lake  Shelek  settlement,  about  seventy  miles 
west  of  Mankato,  and  numbering  some  forty, five 
persons  in  all,  was  attacked  by  the  bands  of  Lean 
Bear,  White  Lodge,  and  Sleepy  Eyes.  Three 
women  and  six  children  were  shot  down  by  one  In 
dian  who  had  been  the  recipient  of  frequent  chari 
ties  from  the  very  persons  he  so  cruelly  murdered. 
Only  twenty  persons  escaped,  ten  or  eleven  being 
taken  prisoners  and  the  remainder  killed. 

SURROUNDED  BY  INDIANS. 

A  detachment  of  soldiers  under  Major  Brown  were 
surprised  and  surrounded  by  the  Indians,  and  when 
relieved  by  Col.  Sibley  they  had  been  thirty-one 
hours  without  food  or  water,  and  with  but  thirty 
rounds  of  ammunition.  The  camp,  when  rescued, 


3O2  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

was  surrounded  by  the  dead  bodies  of  the  horses, 
over  ninety  in  number.  The  tents  were  riddled 
with  bullets,  as  many  as  104  being  found  in  a  single 
one.  Ditches  were  dug  between  the  tents  and  the 
dead  horses,  and  the  dirt  piled  on  the  latter  to  form 
a  breastwork.  Thirteen  dead  and  many  wounded 
soldiers  were  found  in  the  ditch.  A  few  feet  distant 
were  found  more  dead  bodies,  twenty-three  having 
been  killed  in  all,  and  forty-five  wounded. 

Sibley  was  compelled  to  remain  inactive  for  many 
days  at  the  fort,  owing  to  the  want  of  ammunition 
and  supplies,  and  during  this  time  correspondence 
was  carried  on  with  the  Indians  for  the  delivery  of 
captives  and  a  cessation  of  hostilities.  Nothing  was 
accomplished  in  either  direction. 

At  the  battle  of  Wood  Lake,  on  the  i8th  of  Sep 
tember,  Sibley  lost  four  men,  and  had  about  fifty 
wounded.  The  Indian  loss  was  fifteen  killed,  all 
of  whom  were  scalped  by  the  soldiers. 

CAPTIVES  RELEASED. 

On  September  2.6th,  the  Indian  camp  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  Chippewa  was  taken,  and  the  white 
captives  released,  Little  Crow  and  some  two  hun 
dred  warriors  having  hurriedly  fled.  This  virtually 
ended  the  Sioux  war.  A  military  commission  of 
inquiry  was  appointed  to  ascertain  the  guilty  par 
ties,  and  thirty  or  forty  arrested.  Many  Indians 
gave  themselves  up  and  others  were  surprised  in 
the  night.  The  prisoners  were  linked  together  in 
pairs  by  chains  forged  to  their  ankles.  On  the  2ist 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAA.  303 

of  October  other  prisoners  were  brought  in  from 
Wild  Goose  Neck  Lake,  and  on  the  2$d  more  were 
captured  at  the  Yellow  Medicine  Agency.  The 
prisoners  were  taken  to  Fort  Snelling,  where  over 
four  hundred  of  them  were  tried.  Of  these  three 
hundred  and  three  were  sentenced  to  death  and 
eighteen  to  imprisonment. 

The  records  of  the  testimony  and  sentences  of 
the  Indians  were  sent  to  the  President,  but  no 
action  was  taken  for  several  weeks.  Finally,  thirty- 
eight  of  them  were  ordered  to  be  executed  at 
Mankato,  on  Friday,  the  26th  day  of  February,  1863. 
The  sentence  was  carried  into  effect  on  the  appointed 
day,  and  the  remainder  were  taken  down  the  Mis 
sissippi  to  Davenport  and  confined. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

CAUSES  OF  THE  LAST  WAR. 

WHAT  THE  INDIANS  SAY— FATHER  JULE'S  INTERVIEW  WITH  THE  CHIEFS-V. 
THE  CENSUS — BROKEN  FAITH  AND  DIMINISHED  SUPPLIES — LETTER 
FROM  AMERICAN  HORSE — THE  INDIANS'  STORIES  CONFIRMED  BY 
GOVERNMENT  REPORTS. 

The  Indian  war  of  1890-91  had  its  inciting  causes 
in  a  long  train  of  events.  There  has  been  much 
discussion  of  it;  many  statements  and  counter- 
statements  have  been  made.  But  from  all  the  mass 
of  testimony,  one  conclusion  only  can  be  reached, 
that  through  mismanagement  by  Government  offi 
cials,  and  dishonesty,  too,  on  the  part  of  some 
agents,  the  Sioux  were  brought  into  a  condition  of 
great  privation  and  distress.  Many  of  them  were 
actually  starving.  Under  these  circumstances  they 
became  desperate,  and  determined,  since  there  was 
no  help  in  man,  to  seek  help  from  their  "  Messiah/' 
and,  since  they  must  die,  to  die  fighting  their  pale- 
faced  foes. 

Conspicuous  among  those  who,  after  the  hostili 
ties  had  begun,  went  with  their  lives  in  their  hands 

FATHER  JULE'S  EFFORT. 

to  the  Indians  and  tried  to  make  peace  was  Father 
304 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  305 

Jule,  a  Catholic  priest.  Gen.  Brooke  asked  him, 
early  in  December,  1890,  to  go  from  the  Pine  Ridge 
Agency  to  the  camp  of  the  hostiles,  and  he  unhesi 
tatingly  did  so.  He  was  accompanied  by  Jack  Red 
Cloud,  the  respected  son  of  the  famous  chief,  who 
went  more  as  a  guide  than  with  the  belief  that  he 
would  be  of  any  use  in  making  the  mission  a  suc 
cess.  The  story  of  the  visit  gives  the  best  possible 
idea  of  the  feeling  of  the  Indians,  their  grievances, 
and  the  impulses  that  moved  them  to  their  desper 
ate  course. 

There  were  present  at  the  council  Two  Strike, 
the  head  chief;  Turning  Bear,  Short  Bull,  High 
Hawk,  Crow  Dog,  Kicking  Bear,  Eagle  Pipe,  Big 
Turkey,  and  High  Pipe.  The  pipe  'of  peace  was 
conspicuous  by  its  absence. 

Father  Jule  opened  the  council  by  asking  the 
chiefs  to  state  the  particular  cause  of  the  grievance 
that  had  led  them  to  assume  their  war-like  attitude. 
The  replies  were  substantially  as  follows : 

THE  INDIANS  REPLY. 

"We  object  to  the  recent  census  returns  made  by 
Mr.  Lee.  His  enumeration,  as  he  is  now  making 
it,  would  not  give  food  sufficient  for  us  to  live  on. 
Lee  puts  us  down  many  less  for  each  tepee  than 
the  tepee  contains.  We  are  to  receive  food  accord 
ing  to  that  enumeration.  We  shall  starve;  we 
know  we  shall  starve  if  the  Great  Father  chooses 
to  lay  a  trap  to  cheat  us.  We  will  have  one  big 
eat  before  the  starving  time  comes.  After  that  we 


306  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

shall  fight  our  last  fight,  and  the  white  man  shall 
see  more  blood,  more  dead  by  us  from  our  guns 
than  ever  before.  Then  we  shall  go  to  the  last 
hunting-ground  happy.  If  the  white  men  did  not 
mean  to  cheat  us  out  of  food,  the  Great  Father 
would  never  have  sent  soldiers.  There  is  no  need 
of  soldiers  if  the  Great  Father  intended  to  be  fair 
with  us.  We  know  he  intends  cheating  us  by  the 
way  the  census  man  is  now  putting  down  figures 
that  lie,  and  by  which  we  are  to  be  fed.  The  Great 
Father  has  done  another  wrong,  he  put  a  new 
boundary  line  between  Rosebud  and  Pine  Ridge 
Agency,  that  makes  many  of  us  leave  our  homes 
and  give  them  to  others. 

"  The  Great  Father  broke  the  old  treaty  when  he 
did  this.  We  can  no  longer  believe  the  Great 
Father.  He  says  to  us  :  '  Children,  you  shall  never 
be  moved  again  unless  you  want  to  move,'  and  then 
he  goes  right  away  and  moves  us.  We  are  done 
with  promises,  and  now  we  make  a  promise  that  we 
will  fight,  and  the  Great  Father  will  find  that  we 
will  not  break  our  promise.  We  will  now  be  very 
plain  with  you,  Christian  Father,  and  tell  you 
another  thing,  something  of  which  you  may  have 
already  thought.  It  is  this :  We  are  not  coming  in 
now  and  will  not  lay  down  our  rifl^,  because  we 
are  afraid  of  the  consequences.  We  have  done 
wrong;  we  know  it.  If  we  stop  now  we  will  be 
punished*  The  Great  Father  will  send  many  of  us 
to  his  big  iron  house  to  stay  many  moons.  We 


AND    THE  INDIAtf  WAR.  309 

would  die.  No,  we  will  not  go  and  give  up.  We 
know  the  Great  Father  better  than  he  knows  us,  or 
cares  to  know  us." 

After  a  long  pause,  Crow  Dog,  said  that  they 
might  come  in  if  the  soldiers  were  taken  away. 

Father  Jule  then  urged  them  with  much  fervor  to 
give  up  their  designs  of  war  and  be  peaceable.  He 
explained  that  the  soldiers  were  not  present  to 
harm  the  Indians,  but  to  protect  the  agency ;  that 
rations  had  been  increased  at  the  agency,  and  that, 
if  they  came,  Gen.  Brooke  would  telegraph  to 
Washington  and  get  permission  for  them  to  stay  on 
this  agency,  as  they  desired.  So  far  as  depreda 
tions  were  concerned,  the  priest  told  them  they  had 
better  stop  committing  them,  and  they  would  be 

URGING   PEACE. 

more  easily  forgiven.  Finally  he  urged  the  chiefs 
that  they  all  come  back  with  him.  To  this  some  of 
the  older  ones  made  favorable  answers,  but  the 
young  ones,  who  were  heavily  in  the  majority,  said 
no ;  but  the  old  men  finally  agreed  that  they  would 
come  on  horseback  to  Father  Jule's  house,  which  is 
about  four  miles  northwest  of  the  agency,  this  morn 
ing,  and  there  meet  Gen.  Brooke,  and  tell  them  in 
person  just  what  they  had  told  Father  Jule.  This 
brought  on  a  renewal  of  bitter  opposition  from  the 
majority,  which  came  near  ending  in  a  row.  Finally 
the  young  chiefs  cooled  down,  and  Two  Strike,  ad 
dressing  Father  Jule,  said : 

"  Hold  your  hands  up   to  the  Great  Spirit,  and 


310  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

tell  us,  as  though  you  were  about  to  start  on  a 
journey  to  the  last  hunting-ground  of  the  red  man, 
whether  what  you  say  to  us  from  Gen.  Brooke  be 
true,  and  that  we  will  not  be  harmed  if  we  come  in 
simply  to  talk  to  Gen.  Brooke." 

Father  Jule  says  he  complied  with  the  request. 
All  the  chiefs  then  extended  their  hands  toward  the 
heavens,  and  with  great  solemnity  promised  they 
would  come.  This  ended  the  council,  and  Father 
Jule  and  young  Red  Cloud  withdrew,  the  former 
telling  the  chiefs  that,  if  they  broke  their  word  to 
him,  he  would  never  again  believe  an  Indian. 

A  petition  and  statement  of  grievances  was,  in 
November,  1890,  drawn  up  and  signed  by  Hollow 
Horn  Bear  and  fifty-two  other  representative  men 
of  the  different  Sioux  families.  They  wrote  as  fol 
lows  to  the  President : 

LETTER  TO  THE  PRESIDENT. 

"  Great  Father :  This  day  we  will  write  you  a  let 
ter  with  a  good  heart. 

"  When  we  gave  up  the  Black  Hills,  you  told  us 
in  that  treaty  that  a  man  would  get  three  pounds 
of  beef  a  day.  The  meaning  was  three  pounds  for 
one  man.  Beside,  you  said  we  could  get  food  just 
like  the  soldiers.  You  did  not  give  it  to  us  at  this 
rate.  We  are  starving,  and  beg  you  to  give  to  us 
just  so  as  you  have  promised.  Thirty  men  of  us 
get  for  eighteen  days  only  one  cow  to  eat.  That 
is  why  we  mention  it,  and  if  you  do  not  understand 
it  send  money,  and  Hollow  Horn  Bear  and  five 


AMD    THE  INDIAN  WAR,  31 1 

men  will  come  to  you.  Great  Father,  if  you  do  not 
want  to  do  so,  then  please  let  us  have  a  soldier  for 
our  agent." 

The  Sioux  Indians  signed  the  last  agreement 
under  the  express  understanding  that  rations  would 
not  be  reduced.  Within  one  month  after  signing 
the  beef  supply  was  reduced  2,000,000  pounds  for 
the  first  time  in  years.  Those  signing  the  agree 
ment  felt  imposed  upon ;  those  not  signing,  who 
then  became  the  leaders  in  the  outbreak,  blamed 
the  signers  and  pointed  to  the  reduction  in  the  beef 
supply  as  the  result. 

American  Horse,  a  leading  chief  at  Pine  Ridge, 
wrote  to  a  friend  in  Cincinnati,  on  December  22d, 
1890: 

"  I  have  been  hunting  for  my  cattle,  but  found 
only  thirteen  ;  therefore,  they  (the  soldiers)  must 
have  killed  156,  although  it  is  barely  possible  that  I 
may  find  one  or  two  more.  We  found  all  my 
ponies  except  two  ;  that  is,  we  found  them  at  the 
'hostiles' '  camp,  and  it  is  likely  that  I  shall  get  them 
back.  The  things  that  these  white  men  and  the 
Indians  together  have  unwarrantably  destroyed 
amounted  to  $196. 

HESITATING. 

"This  evening  a  Sioux,  one  of  the  returned  'hos- 
tiles,'  told  me  that  almost  half  the  Indians  in  the 
Bad  Lands  would  come  away,  but  the  other  half 
threaten  them  so  they  could  not  come,  but  there  is 
a  delegation  of  1 67  men  of  the  friendly  Indians  who 


LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

have  gone  there  to  persuade  them  to  come  in.  My 
own  son  and  thirty  of  my  young  men  are  among 
the  delegation  trying  to  get  them  to  come  back  and 
stand  a  little  while  longer  the  mean  treatment  with 
out  making  trouble.  They  are  there  by  this  after 
noon.  I  am  thoroughly  informed  of  the  state  of 
things  immediately  surrounding  these  agencies  that 
I  could  not  for  a  moment  think  of  taking  up  arm. 
against  the  whites.  But  you  must  understand  what 
we  friendly  Indians  have  to  endure,  losing  all  our 
cattle,  and  thus  cutting  off  all  subsistence  outside 
of  the  poor  and  small  rations,  which  I  can  tell  you 
are  very  meagre,  indeed,  and  thus  hardly  are  fit  for 
any  human  appetite  for  food.  It  has  been  getting 
worse  and  worse  and  less  and  less  from  ration-day 
to  another.  Among  the  things  they  have  come  and 
taken  away  from  my  house  was  my  overcoat  that 
you  gave  me.  I  am  sorry  that  I  did  not  take  this 
coat  with  me  when  I  came  to  the  agency.  Now, 
my  dear  friend,  there  is  one  thing  I  would  like 

KEEP  MY  BOY  AWAY. 

you  very  much  to  favor  me  with.  I  have  a  boy 
at  Carlisle  School,  in  Pennsylvania,  but  at  present 
he  is  at  Dolington,  Bucks  County,  Pa.,  working. 
He  wishes  to  come  home,  but  I  want  him  to  stay 
there  until  this  trouble  is  over,  and  learn  all  he  can. 
I  wish  you  would  write  to  him  and  encourage  him 
as  much  as  you  can.  Tell  him  my  position  in  this 
trouble.  You  can  tell  it  to  him  better  than  I  can 
through  my  interpreter. 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  313 

"When  this  trouble  is  over  and  the  people  are 
quiet,  I  would  like  to  remind  the  Government,  or 
rather  request  it,  to  make  good  the  losses  of  the 
friendly  Indians.  Can  you  use  your  influence,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  in  our  behalf?  I  thought; 
perhaps,  you  may  have  some  friends  at  Washington 
who  may  say  a  good  word  for  us.  This  is  all  I 
have  to  say." 

To  confirm  these  stories  of  bad  faith,  privation, 
and  unjust  dealing,  it  is  only  necessary  to  turn  to 
the  Government's  own  reports.  As  early  as  the 
spring  of  1890  trouble  was  foreseen,  and  the  causes 
that  were  inevitably  leading  to  it  were  clearly  set 
forth.  Mr.  F.  C.  Armstrong,  an  Indian  inspector, 
wrote,  on  April  7th  from  Pine  Ridge,  to  the  Secre 
tary  of  th~  Interior  as  follows : 

STERN  FACTS. 

"In  former  years  this  agency  was  allowed  5,000,000 
pounds  of  beef.  This  year  it  has  been  reduced  to 
4,000,000  pounds.  These  Indians  were  not  pre 
pared  for  this  change.  No  instructions  had  been 
given  the  agent  that  1,000,000  pounds  of  beef  would 
be  cut  off  from  the  Indians  this  year.  Consequently, 
issues  were  made  from  the  beginning  of  the  fiscal 
year — July  ist,  1889 — until  the  date  of  the  final 
delivery  of  beef,  about  October  I5th,  1889,  on  ^e 
basis  of  5,000,000  pounds  for  the  year.  This  neces 
sitated  a  large  reduction  in  the  beef  issue  afterward 
to  catch  up  with  the  amount,  and  came  just  at  the 
worst  season  of  the  year.  The  Indians  were  kept 


314  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

at  the  agency  between  three  and  four  weeks  In  the 
farming  season  of  1889,  when  they  should  have  been 
at  home  attending  to  their  corn. 

"Their  enforced  absence  attending  the  Sioux 
Commission  caused  them  to  lose  all  they  had  planted 
by  the  stock  breaking  in  on  tHeir  farms  and  destroy 
ing  everything  they  had.  They  have  been  compelled 
to  kill  their  private  stock  during  the  winter  to  keep 
from  starving,  and  in  some  cases  have  been  depre 
dating  upon  the  stock  of  white  people  living  near 
the  line  of  the  reservation. 

BAD  FEELING  GROWING. 

"  A  bad  feeling  is  growing  among  the  Indians  out 
of  this,  and  may  lead  to  trouble  between  the  settlers 
and  the  Indians.  The  killing  of  a  hog  made  the 
Nez  Perces  war,  with  Indians  far  more  advanced 
than  these  people.  The  full  allowance  of  beef 
should  be  given  them.  They  complain  and  with 
good  grounds,  that  they  were  told  by  the  Sioux 
Commissioners  that  their  rations,  etc.,  should  not  be 
reduced ;  that  while  this  very  talk  was  going  on  the 
Department  in  Washington  was  fixing  to  cut  off 
one-fifth  of  their  meat  supply,  but  did  not  let  them 
know  it,  nor  did  the  agent  know  it,  until  they  had 
signed  the  Sioux  Bill.  They  had  a  good  start  in 
cattle,  but  have  had  to  kill  over  three  times  as  many 
of  their  own  cattle,  old  and  young,  as  they  did  the 
year  before  •  that  they  have  been  deceived  in  doing 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  315 

what  they  did  by  the  Government,  and  that  they 
don't  get  as  much  now  as  they  did  before. 

"  I  think  cutting  off  this  1,000,000  pounds  of  beef 
and  thereby  forcing  them  to  kill  their  own  young 
cattle,  has  put  them  back  two  years  or  more  in  rais 
ing  stock,  and  has  created  a  feeling  of  distrust, 
which,  unless  something  is  done  to  repair  it,  will 

KILLING  THEIR  OWN  CATTLE. 

lead  to  trouble  and  bad  conduct.  They  have  now 
killed  many  of  their  own  cattle  and  will  next  com 
mence  to  kill  range  cattle.  Already  hides  and 
other  evidences  of  this  are  being  found  on  the  reser 
vation  borders. 

"  Men  will  take  desperate  remedies  sooner  than 
suffer  from  hunger.  Not  much  work  can  be  ex 
pected  with  the  present  feeling.  The  Indians  w/ho 
advocated  signing  are  now  laughed  at  and  blamed 
for  being  fooled.  They  don't  get  even  their  former 
rations,  and  ask  where  are  all  the  promises  that 
were  made.  The  Government  must  keep  faith  as 
well  as  the  Indians. 

SERIOUS  DISSATISFACTION. 

"  The  attention  of  the  Department  has  frequently 
been  called  to  the  condition  of  the  Cheyenne  In 
dians  at  this  agency,  their  dissatisfaction  and  deter 
mination  to  do  nothing  to  better  their  condition. 
They  now  openly  say  they  will  leave  there  this 


31 6  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

spring,  and  therefore  have  no  intention  of  putting 
in  crops  or  doing  any  work . 

"  They  may  be  held  here  by  force,  but  it  is  ques 
tionable  if  it  is  a  good  policy  to  keep  them  at  Pine 
Ridge  Agency  any  longer.  The  nine  hundred 
Cheyennes  at  Tongue  River,  Montana,  and  these 
five  hundred  Cheyennes  of  the  same  band  here, 
should  be  concentrated  at  one  agency.  The  Sioux 
don't  want  them  here,  and  they  don't  want  to  stay. 
They  should  not  be  kept  as  prisoners  only.  The 
Tongue  River  reservation  is,  I  know,  wanted  by 
cattlemen.  They  should  be  a  secondary  consider 
ation.  These  Indians  should  be  concentrated  there, 
and  a  reservation  obtained  for  them  from  the  Crows, 
and  the  Cheyennes  should  be  moved  to  it.  They 
will  then  be  satisfied,  settle  down,  and  go  to  work. 
No  good  can  ever  come  to  the  Cheyennes  if  the 
course  pursued  toward  them  during  the  last  six 
years  is  continued,  and  much  bad  may  result. 

"  Why  should  Indians  be  forced  to  stay  where 
they  never  located  through  choice  ?  Put  them 
where  they  want  to  live  and  can  make  a  living,  and 
let  them  stay  there  and  do  it.  Without  some 
prompt  action  regarding  this  beef  matter,  and  also 
in  the  Cheyenne  matter,  on  this  reservation,  the 
Department  may,  this  summer  or  fall,  expect  trouble. 
I  have  thought  this  of  sufficient  importance  to  lay  it 
before  the  Department,  and  to  go  in  person  to  ask 
that  some  action  be  taken.  I  have  seen  this  Chey- 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  317 

enne  matter  brewing  for  two  years,  and  I  see  now 
the  Sioux  put  back  in  the  principal  industry  on 
which  they  have  to  depend.  With  prompt  action 
in  this  matter,  and  a  proper  arrangement  of  districts 
for  the  issuing  of  rations,  a  plan  for  which  I  will 
submit,  these  people  will  go  ahead.  If  not,  they 
will  go  backward,  which  to  them  is  the  easier  road." 
But  this  warning  was  unheeded,  and  these  wise 
recommendations  were  ignored. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

EFFORTS   FOR   PEACE. 

MRS.  WELDON'S  REMARKABLE  MISSION  TO  THE  CAMP  OF  SITTING  BULL — 
HER  DESIRE  TO  CONFRONT  THE  PROPHET  OF  THE  MESSIAH — FORCED 
TO  FLEE  FOR  SAFETY—HER  VIEWS  OF  THE  SITUATION— HER  LIFE 
IN  DAKOTA. 

Of  all  white  people  who  ever  had  any  dealings 
with  him,  the  one  who  best  knew  Sitting  Bull,  and 
had  most  influence  with  him,  was  Mrs.  Caroline 
Weldon,  formerly  of  New  York  City.  On  account 
of  some  disappointments  in  her  early  life,  she  went 
to  the  Northwest  and  devoted  herself  for  many 
years  to  work  among  the  Indians  and  to  study  of 
Indian  character  and  history.  She  spent  much  time 
at  Sitting  Bull's  camp,  and  indeed  considered  it  her 
home.  And  she  did  much  to  bring  about  a  better 
understanding  between  the  Indians  and  the  whites, 
and  exposed  and  corrected  many  of  the  abuses 
practiced  by  the  Indian  agents. 

Mrs.  Weldon  spent  some  time  in  New  York  in 
1889,  but  in  the  spring  of  1890  she  settled  all  her 
affairs  there,  and  went  to  Dakota  to  spend  the  rest 
of  her  life,  intending,  if  possible,  to  avert  the  serious 

318 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR.  319 

troubles  which  were  then  already  threatened.  She 
went  at  once  to  Sitting  Bull's  camp,  but  was  soon 
filled  with  dismay  at  the  ominous  symptoms  she 

GRIEVANCES  EVERYWHERE. 

beheld.  Grievances  were  suffered  everywhere.  Dis 
content  was  everywhere.  Rumors  of  the  Messiah 
were  extant.  The  ghost  dances  were  begun.  The 
Indians  became  suspicious  and  regarded  her  as  a 
spy.  When  she  tried  to  stop  the  dances,  they 
turned  upon  her  to  drive  her  from  the  camp.  Sit 
ting  Bull  and  his  wives  were  her  only  friends.  They 
protected  her,  but  when  she  asked  to  be  allowed  to 
confront  Mat-o-wan-a-ti-ta-ka,  the  prophet  of  the 
Messiah,  they  refused.  Then  she  gave  up  all  hope 
of  maintaining  peace,  and  went  to  Fort  Yates  to 
see  the  agent  there.  But  her  mission  was  unavail 
ing.  She  could  not  inspire  the  agent  with  that  con 
fidence  in  and  sympathy  with  the  Indians  which  she 
herself  felt.  Then  her  ten-year-old  boy  died,  and 
she  was  quite  broken-hearted.  On  September  isth 
she  wrote : 

MRS.  WELDON'S  LETTER. 

"  Back  again  at  Cannon  Ball.  Sitting  Bull  andj 
Hohesikana  have  gone  away.  I  hasten  away,  for 
there  appears  to  be  trouble.  They  want  to  go 
hunting.  An  Indian  rode  into  camp  and  told  Sitting 
Bull  that  Major  McLaughlin  had  forbidden  them  to 
go  to  a  certain  place  to  hunt,  and  that  if  they  per 
sisted  in  their  preparations  to  go,  he  would  take 
away  all  their  guns  and  ponies.  This  caused  great 


320  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

consternation,  and  half  the  night  Sitting  Bull  talked 
to  them  to  quiet  them.  He  says  he  does  not  want 
war,  and  will  do  all  he  can  to  prevent  it.  He  does 
not  want  to  fight  against  the  whites.  Sitting  Bull 
hastened  to  the  Major  to  find  out  if  the  report  was 
true,  and  to  remonstrate  with  him.  Sitting  Bull, 
who  loves  his  people,  resents  injustice  done  to  them, 
and  yet  he  wants  peace  with  the  white  people.  He 
said  he  would  be  glad  if  the  soldiers  would  kill  him 
so  his  heart  would  find  rest.  I  told  them  what 
would  be  the  result  of  a  war,  and  that  it  would 
hasten  their  destruction." 

Matters  went  from  bad  to  worse,  and  she  saw 
that  war  was  inevitable.  On  November  4th  she 
wrote  again  a  longer  letter  in  which  she  discussed 
the  situation  in  detail. 

"I  have  been  to  the  Grand  River  again,"  she 
said ;  "  this  time  alone.  I  went  down  to  denounce 
and  pursue  Matowanatitaka,  a  prophet  who  came 
from  Cheyenne,  and  is  making  all  the  Indians  crazy 
with  his  teachings.  I  expected  him  to  be  an  Indian 
of  another  tribe,  but  when  I  arrived  at  the  camp  I 
found  that  he  was  Sitting  Bull's  wife's  sister's  son, 
whose  mother  is  dead.  This  made  matters  worse. 
But  I  could  not  alter  my  intention  when  I  was  told 
that  Sitting  Bull  had  not  come  up,  but  had  remained 
at  home  with  Matowanatitaka.  If  it  had  not  been 
for  the  latter  he  would  have  come  up  to  Cannon 
Ball.  He  had  planned  the  trip.  Hohesikana  was 
far  away,  hunting,  so  I  called  for  Circling  Bear. 


AND    Ttt£  IN&IAN  WAR* 

When  he  came  I  asked  him  to  call  the  chiefs  and 
men  together,  as  I  had  something  important  to  tell 
them.  I  had  already  worked  against  the  prophet — 
who  is  a  young  fellow,  by  the  way — down  to  Can 
non  Ball,  enlightening  the  Indians  in  exposing  him. 
I  had  prepared  a  long  speech  for  the  Indians,  and 
when  I  delivered  it  I  found  that  I  met  with  opposi 
tion  from  the  elder  people.  The  young  people 
listened  with  'interest  and  apparent  belief.  Circling 
Bear  appeared  the  most  obstinate,  but  never  forgot 
his  dignity,  while  I  grew  warm  and  used  harsh  lan 
guage.  In  the  first  place,  this  prophet  claims  to 
have  seen  and  spoken  to  Christ,  who  is  now  again 
upon  the  world,  and  has  come  to  help  the  Indians 
once  more  to  become  a  powerful  people,  and  that 
all  the  white  people  are  to  be  driven  out  of  the  land 
or  transformed  into  beasts.  All  the  dead  are  to 
come  to  life  again  and  never  grow  old.  All  the 
game  is  to  come  back,  and  buffaloes  never  to  give 
out,  for  the  hoofs,  head,  and  tail  are  to  be  saved, 
and  when  your  back  is  turned  they  become  new 
buffaloes.  All  the  Indians,  Sioux,  Utes,  Shoshones, 
and  many  others  believe  in  this  great  Messiah  who 
will  do  all  this  for  them.  He  will  visit  their  living 
relatives  and  tell  them  to  fight  and  become  victor 
ious  once  more.  In  fact,  an  Indian  war  is  on  the 
programme. 

"  I  think  the  Mormons  are  at  the  bottom  of  this, 
for  the  Indians  leave  by  tramping,  by  railroad,  and 
then  go  south,  making  the  journey  in  thirty-five  days 


322  LIFE   Of  SITTING  BULL 

by  horseback,  and  pass  the  Sapanicaota  (Utes). 
Here  they  see  Christ  and  he  speaks  to  them.  Next 
spring  Christ  and  the  dead  will  come  this  way  to 
help  the  Indians.  To  refute  this  and  take  their 
blindness  from  them  and  confound  the  medicine 
men  and  prophets,  I  went  down.  When  I  learned 
that  Sitting  Bull  had  not  come  up  I  determined  to 
go  down  to  Grand  River  and  remonstrate  with  him. 
All  the  Indians  say  that  he  did  not  believe  in  Mato- 
wanatitaka,  who  strikes  one  dead  by  a  look.  They 
say  a  halo  of  light  is  seen  around  his  head  in  the 
dark,  and  there  is  a  star  above  his  head,  and  that 
those  who  scorn  him  he  transforms  into  dogs  or 

THE  FALSE  CHRIST. 

anything  else.  It  is  my  opinion  that  Matowanati- 
taka  himself  is  the  false  Christ,  and  to  confound 
him  I  desired  to  face  him.  I  denounced  him  as  a 
liar  and  a  cheat  at  the  camp,  and  they  sent  Crowfoot 
on  horseback  to  announce  my  coming.  I  expected 
that  Sitting  Bull  would  be  displeased  and  would  treat 
me  coldly,  but  when  the  wagon  stopped  he  shook 
hands  with  me  and  told  me  how  glad  he  was  to  see 
me ;  but  in  spite  of  his  smile  he  looked  sad  and 
troubled,  and  seemed  to  have  aged  considerably 
since  I  saw  him  a  month  before.  In  the  house  the 
dishes  were  set  for  dinner.  My  plate  was,  with 
several  others,  on  the  table,  and  on  the  floor  was  a 
white  cloth  with  eight  plates  for  Matowanatitaka 
and  his  followers.  His  followers  came  to  eat,  but 
Matowanatitaka  and  one  of  his  disciples  stayed 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  323 

away,  and  I  did  not  see  him  that  day.  I  never  got 
a  good  look  at  his  face.  He  always  had  his  blanket 
drawn  over  his  head,  and  when  he  looked  at  me  it 
generally  was  from  behind  a  couple  of  chairs  or 
some  other  piece  of  furniture.  Instead  of  coming 
around  and  asking  for  an  explanation  he  avoided 
me  and  seemed  afraid.  The  next  day  the  Major 
sent  some  policemen  to  arrest  Matowanatitaka  and 
Sitting  Bull.  The  majority  of  the  police  stayed  four 
miles  above  Sitting  BulPs  residence,  and  the  chief 
and  Catka  were  brave  enough  to  come  to  the  house 
and  deliver  their  message.  Of  course,  Matowana 
titaka  and  Sitting  Bull  declined  to  accommodate  the 
Indian  policemen.  Matowanatitaka  lay  flat  on  his 
back  kicking  his  feet  in  the  air  in  the  most  ridiculous 
manner,  while  Sitting  Bull  was  delivering  a  speech 
to  the  policemen  and  Indians.  I  expected  a  fight 
every  minute,  for  every  man  carried  a  gun  and 
looked  desperate,  and  the  room  was  filled  with  them. 
Catka  recognized  me,  as  he  met  me  a  year  be 
fore.  He  bent  down  and  whispered  to  Matowanati 
taka.  Sitting  Bull  had  already  left  the  room  and 
Matowanatitaka  followed,  and  then  one  by  one 
every  one  left ;  Sitting  Bull's  wife  and  myself  were 
the  only  occupants  in  the  room  with  the  exception 
of  the  chief.  Catka  and  I  chatted  pleasantly  about 
different  things,  he  admiring  Sitting  Bull's  full- 
length  portrait  which  I  had  given  to  him.  After  a 
while  the  chief  men  came  in  and  shook  hands  with  the 
policemen,  all  but  Sitting  Bull  and  Matowanatitaka. 


324  1/fcB   Of  SITTING  StJLL 

"  The  next  day  I  was  told  that  Matowanatitaka 
had  left,  but  I  doubted  it,  although  his  arms  were 
not  there,  and  subsequently  I  proved  to  be  in  the 
right.  He  had  taken  up  his  quarters  somewhere 
else,  for  later  on  he  was  my  traveling  companion 
with  Sitting  Bull  on  my  return  to  Yates.  Circling 
Bear  poisoned  Sitting  Bull's  ears.  He  told  him 
that  the  attempt  to  arrest  was  my  doings ;  that  I 
was  Sitting  Bull's  enemy  ;  and  that  I  was  planning 
the  destruction  of  both.  He  also  called  Sitting 
Bull's  attention  to  a  look  which  passed  between  me 
and  Catka.  Evidence  was  against  me,  for  I  had 
said  that  I  would  pursue  Matowanatitaka,  and  Sit 
ting  Bull  told  me  he  knew  that  I  was  his  enemy, 
and  wanted  him  to  be  in  prison.  I  simply  laughed 
when  he  told  me.  There  I  had  been  working  for 
his  interest  and  the  interest  of  the  Indians  for 
years ;  was  ready  to  share  all  the  dangers,  and  he 
was  foolish  enough  to  believe  me  his  enemy.  That 
night  they  continued  their  wacekiyaps  (dances  and 
songs),  which  sounded  awful  in  the  stillness  of  the 
night,  and  they  kept  it  up  until  I  could  stand  it  no 
longer,  so  I  arose  and  went  through  the  crowd.  It 
was  dark,  and  there  was  the  width  of  a  street  be 
tween  me  and  Sitting  Bull's  house.  I  told  Sitting 
Bull  I  would  go  away  at  daylight  if  he  did  not  stop 
it,  and  he  did,  The  next  morning  I  asked  him  to 
have  no  more  dances,  as  the  troops  would  come 
and  there  would  be  a  battle.  He  said  it  was  not 
his  doings,  but  the  chiefs',  and  he  would  be  glad  if 


CHIEF  BIG  JOSEPH. 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  32  J 

the  soldiers  would  kill  him,  for  he  wanted  to  die. 
*  If  you  want  to  die,  kill  yourself,  and  do  not  bring 
other  people  into  trouble,'  I  said.  He  had  the  post 
removed  to  the  foot  of  the  hill,  where  it  would  not 
annoy  me,  but  he  acted  as  high  priest,  for  I  watched 
him.  He  expected  the  soldiers  and  battle  every 
hour.  You  can  imagine  how  pleasant  it  was  for  me. 

"  Miss  Carrigan  and  One  Bull  came  to  take  me 
to  Yates,  but  Sitting  Bull  made  me  promise  to  stay 
fiv^  days  longer,  as  the  Major  had  seized  some 
messengers,  and  so  I  did  not  go,  but  sent  some 
money  I  had  to  Major  McLaughlin,  begging  him  to 
keep  it  for  me  until  I  should  reclaim  it.  Not  that  I 
distrusted  the  Indians,  for  not  a  pin  was  ever  taken 
from  me,  but  I  feared  the  battle,  and  if  I  was  killed 
no  one  would  get  the  benefit  of  it.  A  few  days 
later  I  met  Gall,  a  chief,  who  was  going  to  take  me 
to  Yates,  but  Sitting  Bull  was  not  on  good  terms 
with  him,  and  I  feared  Sitting  Bull  would  think  I 
might  betray  some  secrets  of  the  council,  for  I  had 
always  been  present,  so  I  stayed  until  Sitting  Bull 
took  me  himself.  He  said : 

"  '  Do  as  your  heart  dictates.  If  you  want  to  go 
with  Gall,  go ;  but  if  your  heart  says  stay,  remain, 
and  I  will  take  you  to  Yates  myself,  and  perhaps  to 
Cannon  Ball.' 

SITTING  BULL'S    FRIENDSHIP. 

"  Sitting  Bull  and  family  were  very  good  to  me, 
and  always  treated  me  well,  although  I  did  denounce 
Matowanatitaka  and  their  dances.  Some  of  the 


328  LlfJS  OP  SITTING  BULL 

Indians  felt  very  bitter,  for  they  blamed  me  for  the 
agent's  actions.  I  think  this  was  done  to  make  a 
rupture  between  us,  and  to  deprive  Sitting  Bull  of. 
my  protection,  which  was  affecting  the  National 
Indian  Defense  Committee  in  Washington.  I  could 
write  a  whole  book  of  my  experience  at  the  camp 
near  Yates.  Circling  Bear,  who  formerly  befriended 
me,  is  now  my  enemy.  He  cast  the  robe  he  gave 
me  up  to  me,  and  I  threw  it  at  his  feet,  and  told 
him  I  wanted  no  presents  from  him.  He  did  not 
take  it  back  all  the  same.  I  had  many  unpleasant 
words  with  them  because  I  opposed  their  dances 
which  I  thought  destroyed  their  reason  for  days. 
They  said  I  did  not  understand  it,  but  that  whatever 
disease  they  had  was  thrown  off  during  these  par 
oxysms.  These  dances  occurred  once  a  year,  and 
lasted  eight  days.  The  hymns  are  nice,  and  I  know 
six  or  seven  of  them/' 

A  few  days  later  she  wrote  concerning  various 
slanders  which  had  been  circulated  against  her  by 
the  enemies  of  the  Indians,  some  of  them  to  the 
effect  that  she  had  become  one  of  Sitting  Bull's 
wives. 

"I  reached  Yates  Thursday.  Sitting  Bull  went  a 
few  minutes  ahead  of  the  team.  He  dressed  as  if 
for  burial,  wearing  the  black  cloth  about  his  head, 
which  means  he  is  ready  to  die  at  any  moment. 
He  expected  to  be  seized,  and  was  determined  to 

SITTING  BULL  READY  FOR   DEATH. 

defend  himself  and  sell  his  life  dearly.     His  fol- 


AND    JffE  INDIAN  WAR.  329 

lowers  were  at  the  Grand  River ;  he  was  brave  to 
go  alone.  On  the  contrary,  the  officers  treated  him 
well  and  shook  hands  with  him.  I  had  the  chance 
to  go  to  Cannon  Ball  in  a  Government  team.  He 
thought  I  would  remain  there  from  Thursday  until 
Monday.  The  Utes  when  I  left  felt  sorry.  They 
seemed  to  realize  they  had  lost  one  of  their  best 
friends  forever.  Now  I  have  gone,  I  fear  that  the 
last  link  between  the  white  people  and  Sitting  Bull 
is  severed.  The  Utes,  as  well  as  other  tribes,  are 
ready  to  fight,  and  I  cannot  blame  them.  When 
one  has  seen  how  they  are  continually  cheated, 
allowances  can  be  made.  I  read  an  article  about 
myself  in  a  Washington  paper  which  was  sent  me. 
All  papers  print  the  most  dangerous  lies,  and  I 
blame  Major  McLaughlin  for  allowing  it.  If  he  had 
not  started  these  stories,  they  would  not  have  been 
published,  although  he  positively  knows  they  are 
untrue,  for  I  had  sent  several  notes  to  him  from  the 
Grand  River,  and  when  I  informed  him  of  the  un 
pleasantness  between  me  and  the  Sioux  on  account 
of  my  opposition  to  fheir  songs  and  dances,  he  knew 
I  was  trying  to  prevent  war,  and  that  my  life  had 
been  in  danger  on  that  account,  and  yet  he  allowed 
these  untruths  to  be  told,  and  stated  also  the  latter 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  If  you  read  ro 
mances,  do  not  believe  them.  I  would  like  to  see 
these  articles,  for  they  interest  me,  and  I  know  they 
are  his  doings." 


33O  *JF£   OF  SITTING  BULL 

And  again  she  wrote  of  her  life  in  Dakota : 
"  No  one  in  the  world  was  as  happy  as  I,  and  I 
wish  that  all  might  have  shared  that  happiness.  A 
city  seems  a  prison  to  me.  One  must  work  hard  to 
get  along  in  the  city,  and  I  enjoyed  the  freedom  of 
the  wilderness.  I  enjoyed  the  trees,  and  the  hills, 
and  the  clouds.  The  flowers  and  the  birds  make 
me  happy.  I  love  the  solitude,  with  its  songs  and 
its  scenery,  and  I  was  loath  to  leave  it.  But  I  had 
to  go,  as  my  life  was  in  danger.  Those  who  had 
been  my  friends  were  now  my  enemies,  and  I 
left  against  the  wishes  of  the  Sioux.  They  wanted 
me  to  remain  for  the  winter,  as  I  knew  too  much. 
I  had  been  at  every  council  and  was  acquainted  with 
all  their  plans.  They  needed  an  interpreter  and  a 
secretary,  and  they  wanted  me  to  so  act  for  them. 
I  feel  that  I  have  escaped  with  my  life,  and  I  laugh 
to  think  how  I  have  outwitted  that  cunning  Sitting 
Bull.  After  I  left  I  was  informed  that  Sitting  Bull 
rode  through  Yates  at  night,  singing  his  war  songs, 
which  were  awful  to  listen  to.  If  the  Indians  can 

INDIANS  STARVING. 

gain  anything,  I  say  fight,  for  they  are  starving.  As 
it  turns  out,  they  get  only  one-fifth  of  what  the 
Government  allows  them.  If  I  could  only  live,  and 
had  power  enough  to  see  the  agents  exposed  and 
brought  to  justice,  I  should  like  it,  for  I  know  they 
are  stealing  goods  intended  for  the  Indians.  I  al- 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  331 

ways  urged  them  not  to  fight,  for  they  would  get 
the  worst  of  it.  I  feared  the  leaders  would  suffer, 
and  all  their  ponies  and  arms  be  taken,  and  that 
would  be  awful,  but  it  would  be  what  I  have  said  all 
the  time.  I  often  wonder  if  they  remember  my 
words,  and  things  are  turning  out  different  from 
what  they  anticipated" 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

THE   SEAT  OF   WAR. 

PINE  RIDGE  RESERVATION  AND  AGENCY— THE  GARDENS  AND  TH« 
BUILDINGS — DR.  MCGILLICUDDY'S  ADMINISTRATION — THE  CATHO 
LIC  MISSION  SCHOOL— SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  BAD  LANDS— A 
TRULY  HORRIBLE  REGION. 

The  Pine  Ridge  Agency  is  one  of  the  most  im 
portant  of  all  the  Indian  posts.  Under  its  care  and 
control  lie  the  bulk  of  the  Sioux  Nation — all  that  is 
left  of  it.  The  agency  is  situated  in  the  western 
part  of  South  Dakota  and  occupies  a  tract  of  table 
land  bordering  on  White  Clay  Creek,  a  never-fail 
ing  stream  of  clear  spring  water.  When  the  agency 
buildings  were  placed  here  in  1879  it  was  thought 
that  the  boundary  line  between  Dakota  and  Ne 
braska  was  distant  twelve  miles  to  the  south.  But 
it  was  afterward  found  that  it  was  only  two  miles 
away,  and  this  circumstance  gave  unprincipled  per 
sons  a  chance  to  reach  and  corrupt  the  Indians  with 
out  entering  the  reservation.  So  very  soon  a  large 
free-for-all  dance-house,  gambling  den,  and  grog 
shop  was  running  full  blast,  day  and  night,  Sundays 
as  well,  only  two  miles  from  the  agency.  The  bad 

33* 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR. 


333 


effect  of  this  made  it  necessary  to  set  apart  for  the 
use  of  the  reservation  a  tract  of  land  five  by  ten 
miles  in  size  in  Nebraska  immediately  south  of  the 
agency,  thus  driving  objectionable  characters  further 
away. 

The  Pine  Ridge  Reservation,  of  which  the  agency 
is  the  capital,  contains  about  2,000,000  acres,  or 
about  360  acres  for  each  Indian.  Strictly  speaking, 
the  land  cannot  be  called  arable,  although  portions 


THE   PINE   RIDGE   AGENCY. 


of  it  along 


the  streams  have  in  favorable  seasons 
produced  pretty  good  crops.  But  the  seasons  are 
short  and  dry,  and  as  yet  no  general  system  of 
irrigation  has  been  found  practicable.  The  majority 

SIOUX  ANXIOUS  TO  FARM. 

of  the  Indians  here  are  the  very  flower  of  the  Sioux 
race  and  are  anxious  to  own  land  in  severalty  and 
to  earn  their  living  as  farmers  and  cattle  raisers. 
When  this  agency  was  established  in  1879  ft  was 


334  LIFS  OF  SITTING  BULL 

put  in  charge  of  the  now  famous  Indian  agent,  Dr. 
V.  T.  McGillicuddy.  Up  to  the  time  of  his  appoint 
ment  Red  Cloud  had  been  the  leader  in  all  kinds  of 
disturbances,  and  openly  defied  every  agent.  It  has 
become  well-known  history  to  every  %one  on  the 
frontier  how  the  Doctor  first  taught  the  Sioux  the 
meaning  of  the  words  obedience  and  discipline. 
He  is  one  of  the  few  men  who  know  no  fear,  and 
innumerable  stories  of  his  courage  are  current  to 
day,  and  no  one  tells  them  with  keener  enjoyment 
than  the  Indians  themselves.  The  noble  red  man 
has  a  child's  mind  in  a  man's  body,  and  no  class  of 
people  respect  and  yield  to  courage,  firmness,  and 
kindness  than  they.  An  Indian  police  numbering 
fifty  picked  men  was  organized,  given  comfortable 
quarters,  a  complete  equipment,  and  were  soon  as 
thoroughly  drilled  as  any  body  in  an  Eastern  city. 
With  this  small  force  over  6  500  Indians,  including 
i, 800  of  the  best  fighters  who  have  ever  held  our 
army  at  bay,  were  completely  controlled.  The 
Indians  were  disarmed,  the  famous  torture  or  sun 

WONDERFUL  PROSPERITY  UNDER  DR.  M'GILLICUDDY. 

dance  was  broken  up  never  to  be  revived,  schools, 
workshops,  and  a  thorough  system  of  farming  under 
a  boss  farmer,  were  established.  Every  one  visiting 
the  agency  is  surprised  at  the  substantial,  neat,  yet 
inexpensive  character  of  the  buildings,  which  are 
arranged  something  on  the  plan  of  the  common 
frontier  forts.  The  principal  buildings  are  the 
agent's  headquarters,  the  school-house,  police  quar- 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR.  335 

ters,  supply  houses  where  rations  are  issued,  two 
post-trading  establishments,  Catholic  and  Episcopal 
Churches,  blacksmith,  harness,  wagon,  and  carpen 
ter  shops.  Around  these  are  clustered  the  houses 
of  the  various  employees  and  assistants.  The  place 
bears  more  resemblance  to  a  well-kept  country 
village  than  a  famous  Indian  agency.  There  are 
no  fortifications  of  any  kind,  not  even  a  stockade  or 
a  strong  house  to  retreat  to  in  case  of  trouble. 
The  most  formidable  barriers  in  the  way  of  a  hos 
tile  are  the  picket-fences  and  the  wire  screens  over 
the  windows. 

During  thfe  Cleveland  Administration,  Dr.  Mc- 
Gillicuddy,  being  a  Republican,  was  removed  from 
the  agency,  and  a  Mr.  Gallagher  appointed  in  his 

BAD   RESULTS  OF  CHANGING  AGENTS. 

place.  The  results  of  the  change  were  soon  visible. 
The  average  Indian  will  size  up  a  man  as  quickly  as 
an  unruly  boy,  and  tries  him  in  every  way  so  as  to 
find  how  far  he  can  transgress  the  established  rules. 
It  is  the  same  spirit  that  is  manifested  in  every  un 
ruly  school-room,  only  these  dusky  pupils  of  the 
nation  are  full  grown  physically,  full  of  superstition, 
with  fierce,  cruel,  and  uncontrolled  tempers  and 
appetites,  and  many  of  them  have  tasted  of  the 
pleasures  of  hunting  that  most  fascinating  of  all 
large  game — that  is,  human  beings.  In  a  short 
time  they  began  leaving  the  reserve  in  bands  and 
family  bunches  to  visit  their  friends  in  Wyoming 
and  Montana  without  stopping  to  ask  permission 


336  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

as  the  regulations  called  for ;  and  many  a  cattle 
man  in  Wyoming  still  quotes  freely  from  profane 
history  as  he  recalls  their  manifested  love  for  roast 
beef  rare  as  they  crossed  his  range.  In  a  few 
months  it  was  found  that  they  were  well  supplied 
again  with  arms  and  ammunition,  which  they  had 
purchased  during  their  excursions, 

Mr.  Gallagher  did  not  remain  at  the  agency  long 
enough  to  enjoy  all  the  fruits  of  his  work.  In  the 
summer  of  1890  he  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Royer, 
who  took  hold  of  the  tangled  affairs  with  a  firm  and 
judicious  hand.  But  he  came  too  late  to  avert  the 
catastrophe. 

The  Pine  Ridge  Catholic  Mission  School,  which 
was  recently  destroyed  by  the  hostile  Indians,  was 
situated  on  White  Clay  Creek,  about  four  miles 
from  the  agency,  in  one  of  the  most  picturesque 
spots  on  the  whole  reservation.  It  consisted  of  a 
substantial  three-story  brick  building,  about  two 
hundred  feet  long  by  one  hundred  feet  wide,  in 
closing  two  courts  or  play-grounds  for  the  children. 
Around  the  buildings  were  extensive  gardens,  which, 
being  watered  from  the  creek,  were  exceedingly 
fertile  and  productive.  On  a  hill  near  by  was  a 
large  tank  and  windmill,  giving  the  whole  place  an 
excellent  water  supply.  The  school  was  opened  in 
1887,  its  object  being  to  educate  the  Indian  children 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  The  south  half  of  the 
buildings  was  occupied  by  the  nuns  and  girl  stu 
dents,  and  the  north  half  by  the  priests  and  the 


AND   THE   INDIAN   WAR.  337 

boys,  each  part  being  a  complete  institution  by 
itself.  In  the  centre  was  a  handsome  chapel.  The 
head  of  the  school  was  Father  John  Jutz,  a  Fran- 
ciscan  monk  from  Austria.  He  was  assisted  by  two 
fathers,  six  lay  brothers,  and  ten  sisters,  all  Germans. 
All  teaching,  however,  was  in  English,  as  required 
by  the  law. 

THE  BAD  LANDS. 

The  Bad  Lands,  as  they  are  fittingly  called  by 
both  whites  and  Indians,  comprise  one  of  the  most 
extraordinary,  fantastic,  repelling,  and  desolate  re 
gions  in  the  world.  Riding  over  the  plains,  one 
comes  suddenly  to  the  edge  of  a  precipice  from  200 
to  500  feet  in  depth.  He  may  travel  for  miles 
along  this  edge  before  finding  a  break  that  will  per 
mit  him  to  descend  to  the  region  below.  The  re 
gion  before  him  was  once  the  bottom  of  a  vast  in« 
land  lake  or  sea,  no  miles  long  from  northeast  to 
southeast,  and  from  fifteen  to"  forty  miles  wide  from 
east  to  west.  The  bottom  of  the  lake  has  been  the 
play-ground  of  the  forces  of  nature  for  ages ;  rain, 
wind,  and  frost  have  carved  the  whole  region  into 
more  fantastic,  weird  forms  than  human  brains  could 
conceive.  Standing  "on  the  edge  of  the  precipice, 
one  feels  that  a  magic  pen  is  needed  to  describe  the 
scene.  Below  and  beyond  is  a  chaos  of  hills,  buttes, 
valleys,  canons,  dizzy  ah'tudes,  blackened,  precipi 
tous  cliffs,  and  gloomy  gorges.  It  is  a  map  of  the 
mighty  convulsions  and  pranks  of  nature  in  her 
most  rebellious  or  sportive  moods ;  a  fascinating 


338  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

terra-incognita  whose  edges  only  have  been  ex 
plored  by  a  few  daring  white  men,  and  whose  in 
terior  is  known  only  to  the  skulking  savage.  One 
sees  hills,  cut  in  all  directions  by  deep,  twisting  ra 
vines,  displaying  along  their  sides  marvelous  archi 
tectural  forms.  One  sees  what  is  apparently  an  old 
dismantled  fortress,  near  by  is  the  wreck  of  a  city, 
on  the  right  stands  a  huge  castle,  on  the  left  the 
remnants  of  a  village,  all  stone,  all  deception,  for  no 
human  beings  have  ever  called  this  region  home.  It 
is  all  death  and  desolation,  there  is  no  animal  life, 
and  vegetation  shuns  the  ground  as  though  it  were 
plague-stricken.  There  is  no  crystal  sheen  of  rivers 
emerging  from  graceful  groves  of  richest  green ; 
the  river  beds  are  dry,  and  contain  only  huge  boul 
ders  scattered  around  as  though  some  giants  had 
been  waking  the  echoes  pelting  each  other  with 
them. 

WONDERS  AND  DESOLATION  OF  THE  BAD  LANDS. 

Here  and  there  are  plainly  seen  old  high-water 
marks,  with  the  washed  up  debris  left  by  the  floods 
of  ages  ago  ;  but  no  bubbling  brooks  or  cool  spring 
is  left  to  quench  the  thirst  of  the  explorer  whose 
nostrils  and  eyes  smart  and  sting  from  the  thick 
alkali  dust  raised  in  clouds  at  every  step.  The  ab 
sence  of  life  in  any  form  is  terrible,  oppressive. 
There  is  no  chirping  of  insects,  no  humming  of 
wings  to  give  signs  of  animation — nothing  but  si 
lence  profound  and  forbidding.  Even  the  lazy  wav 
ing  of  the  rare  tufts  of  prairie  grass  is  a  relief  to  the 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  339 

absolute  lifelessness.  It  is  a  region  of  terrors,  of 
shivers,  and  undefined  dread.  To  the  scientist  the 
region  is  one  of  indescribable  fascination.  Accus 
tomed  to  hear  the  Black  Hills  described  as  the  min 
eral  wonderland  of  the  world,  he  is  not  surprised  to 
find  in  the  bottom  of  the  old  sea,  that  once  dashed 
its  waves  against  the  rocky  shores  of  the  island  of  the 
Hills,  a  perfect  museum  of  the  ancient  wonders  of 
this  land.  The  geologist  finds  himself  in  what  has 
been  a  wonderland  from  the  first  dawning  of  life  on 
the  globe.  The  rocky  layers,  now  carved  into  mar 
velous  imitation  of  the  work  of  human  hands,  were 
once  ooze  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and  are  now  the 
richest  treasure-houses  in  the  whole  world  of  the 
well-preserved  forms  of  ancient  animal  life  from 
which  such  men  as  Professors  Cope,  Marsh,  and 
Leidy  have  dug  out  some  of  the  most  strange  and 
wonderful  freaks  of  animal  life.  To  read  their  re 
ports  is  more  romantic  and  weird  than  the  Arabian 
Nights  and  their  facts  seem  as  strange  as  the  tales 
of  Munchausen.  In  turn  this  region  has  been  the 

WONDERLAND  OF  ANCIENT  ANIMAL  LIFE. 

home  of  such  land  and  water  animals  of  such  gigan 
tic  size  as  have  never  been  discovered  elsewhere  in 
the  deposits  of  any  geological  age.  Lizard-like 
forms  over  100  feet  in  length  and  thirty  feet  high 
crawled  wearily  over  the  plains ;  reptiles  more  hid 
eous  than  the  standard  sea  serpent  bathed  their 
fifty-foot  bodies  in  this  inland  sea,  stretching  their 
necks  twenty  feet  in  the  air ;  flying  reptiles,  with  a 


34O  LIF&  OF  SITTING  BULL 

twenty-foot  spread  of  leathery  wings,  disputed  pos 
session  of  the  air  with  gigantic  birds  whose  vast 
jaws  were  armed  with  teeth  ;  two,  three,  and  four- 
toed  horses,  from  the  size  of  a  fox  to  those  larger 
than  any  of  to-day,  in  turn  sought  their  food  in  this 
labyrinthian  wilderness.  Tropical  climates  followed 
the  drying  up  of  the  sea,  and  palms  grew,  and  croco 
diles,  rhinocerus,  tapirs,  elephants,  mastodons,  and 
even  camels  lived  and  died  within  these  boundaries. 
Everywhere  their  fossil  bones  abound,  mingled  with 
petrified  shells  of  turtles  six  feet  long,  mammoth 
shells  of  the  ammonite,  with  the  pearl  as  perfect  as 
the  day  when  it  spread  its  fleshy  sails  to  the  creta 
ceous  breeze  ;  huge  masses  of  fossil  oysters  awaken 
longings  for  the  comforts  of  the  East. 

THE  BAD  LANDS  THE  INDIANS'  SECURE  RETREAT. 

Only  the  Indian  knows  the  dire  and  perilous  trails 
that  lead  in  and  out  of  this  most  terrible  of  labry- 
rinths.  Their  light  ponies  can  go  where  the  heavy 
cavalry  horse  cannot  follow.  Hidden  in  the  depths 
of  this  wilderness  are  a  few  oases  where  grass  and 
springs  are  found.  In  these  spots  the  Indian  will 
hide.  The  largest  oasis  is  known  as  Grass  Basin, 
at  the  foot  of  Butte  Cache.  It  contains  about  2,000 
acres,  and  is  surrounded  by  the  most  formidable 
portion  of  the  Bad  Lands.  The  difficulties  and  hor 
rors  of  warfare  in  such  a  region  may  be  imagined 
but  not  described.  The  battle-ground  of  the  Wil 
derness  was  a  parade  ground  compared  with  the 
Bad  Lands. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

LIFE   AT   PINE   RIDGE. 

EXPERIENCE  OF  THE  WAR  CORRESPONDENTS — TRYING  TO  TAKE  A  PIC 
TURE — THE  SQUAW  DANCES — "  HAVE  You  GOT  CHRIST  IN  THK 
GUARD-HOUSE?" — FIRE-WATER  WITH  A  VENGEANCE — THE  INDIAN 
BOYS — MARRIED  LIFE. 

Among  the  six  newspaper  correspondents  who 
remained  at  the  Pine  Ridge  Agency  all  through  the 
troubles  was  Mr.  Warren  K.  Moorehead,  who  thus 
described  in  The  Philadelphia  Press  some  of  his 
experiences  and  observations : 

"Some  of  the  men  spent  many  hours  in  the 
tepees  by  the  ruddy  glow  of  the  little  fires,  which 
sent  a  dense  smoke  curling  upward  toward  the 
aperture  at  the  top.  The  hours  thus  spent  were 
profitable  ones,  for  with  a  good  interpreter  and 
plenty  of  cigarettes  and  smoking  tobacco,  it  was 
not  at  all  difficult  to  engage  the  Sioux  in  conversa 
tion.  As  the  warrior  related  anecdotes  of  the  chase, 
or  recounted  his  exploits  in  war,  his  face  would  light 
up  with  animation,  and  he  would  pour  into  the  ears 
of  his  listeners  stories  of  adventure  that  rivalled 
even  the  dime  novel  hero.  And  when  he  showed 

341 


342  lite    OF  SlTflNG  &t7LL 

us  scars  here  and  there  upon  his  body,  proofs  of  his 
bravery,  of  which,  by  the  way,  he  was  very  proud, 
we  believed  that  he  spoke  the  truth. 

"  One  night  we  were  in  Keeps-the-Battle's  lodge. 
There  were  present  four  women,  three  children, 
Interpreter  Bartlett,  and  myself.  The  old  chief, 
after  considerable  urging  and  the  gift  of  two  sacks 
of  tobacco,  related  the  following  story  : 

"  '  When  the  ghost  dance  was  at  its  height  there 
suddenly  appeared  a  runner  from  the  agency  at  our 
camp  on  White  Clay  Creek  with  the  startling  news 
that  the  "  walk-with-guns"  (infantry)  were  coming. 
We  held  a  big  council  all  the  next  day  to  determine 
what  should  be  done,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  our 
talk  a  large  number  of  the  people  moved  into  the 
Bad  Lands. 

"'It  was  during  the  midst  of  a  stormy  debate 
between  Red  Cloud  and  Little  Wound  that  a  "  heap- 
much-dress-young-man,"  who  had  arrived  with  the 
soldiers  a  ,few  hours  before,  came  riding  into  our 

A  CARLISLE  STUDENT  SPOILS  A  KODAK. 

camp  alone.  Few  white  men  had  seen  us  dance  the 
ghost  dance,  and,  as  our  hearts  were  bad,  we  were 
in  no  humor  to  entertain  strangers.  This  heap- 
much-dress-youth  came  into  the  centre  of  our  grave 
circle,  and,  taking  a  small  brown  box  from  under 
his  arm,  pointed  a  little  hole  in  the  end  of  it  toward 
the  leading  Sioux  men.  A  slight  click  was  heard, 
and  the  youth  opened  his  box  and  started  to  draw 
out  a  thin  board. 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  345 

"  *  All  of  a  sudden  a  boy  who  had  been  to  Carlisle 
to  school,  sprang  to  his  feet  and  cried :  "  Etoape 
wachee  !  "  (he  takes  picture).  Instantly  several  men 
drew  clubs,  and,  running  toward  the  heap-much- 
dress-lad,  struck  the  box  from  his  trembling  hands 
and  smashed  it  to  fragments  on  the  ground.  Mean 
while  the  white  boy  ran  to  his  horse,  mounted  in  hot 
haste,  and  rode  away  for  dear  life,  his  hair  standing 
on  end  with  fright.  The  Sioux  forgot  the  council 
and  whooped  and  yelled  with  merriment. 

"'The  white  picture-taker  dropped  a  letter  from 
his  pocket  as  he  mounted.  One  of  our  educated 
boys  read  it  to  us.  It  said  something  about  getting 
articles  and  pictures  concerning  the  ghost  dancers, 
and  was  signed  by  some  New  York  man.  Our 
people  were  very  glad  the  young  man  did  not  se 
cure  a  picture  of  us.  I  have  done.' 

"  Many  of  the  Sioux  object  to  being  photographed, 
as  they  are  convinced  no  good  can  come  of  having 

BAD   MEDICINE. 

their  likeness  in  a  white  man's  possession.  They 
say  that  it  is  '  bad  medicine/  and  that  the  white  man 
will  work  evil  against  the  person  whose  picture  he 
secures.  Those  of  us  who  had  kodaks  resorted  to 
strategy.  We  offered  a  sack  of  tobacco  or  cigarette 
to  a  blanketed  man  or  woman,  and  as  the  Indian 
uncovered  his  or  her  face  to  light  the  cigarette  we 
*  pressed  the  button.' 

"  One  of  the  most  interesting  sights  to  the  sol 
diers,  and  those  unaccustomed  to  Indians,  is  the 


346  LIFE.    OF  SITTING  BULL 

squaw  dance.  In  the  Omaha  and  green  const 
dances  none  but  the  men  participate ;  but,  as  the 
women  love  dancing  just  as  passionately  as  do  the 
men,  there  has  been,  as  long  as  the  oldest  Sioux 
can  remember,  at  stated  intervals,  an  opportunity 
afforded  the  squaws  to  dance. 

"The  several  squaw  gatherings,  as  viewed  by 
myself,  were  held  twice  a  week.  Fifty  or  a  hundred 
women  (married)  form  a  circle  and  seat  themselves. 
Eight  or  ten  others,  armed  with  short  sticks,  gather 
about  a  large  bass  drum,  and  at  a  given  signal 
strike  up  a  monotonous  tune,  keeping  time  mean 
while  with  the  instrument.  The  dancers  arise  in 
their  places  and  elevate  themselves  upon  their  toes, 
dropping  back  upon  their  heels  with  each  stroke 
upon  the  drum  (the  drummers  strike  in  unison). 
There  is  no  jumping  about  or  moving  from  place  to 
place  as  in  the  Omaha  dance.  Of  course,  this  rapid 
motion  of  heels  and  toes  soon  tires  the  women ; 
therefore  the  dance  discontinues  every  five  or  ten 
minutes  for  a  short  space  of  time. 

"  After  all  have  satisfied  themselves,  the  delicacy 
of  the  season  is  served  from  several  large  kettles. 
It  is  almost  needless  to  add  that  these  kettles  con 
tain  dog  soup.  All  the  Indian  families  keep  from 
six  to  eight  dogs.  There  is  no  distinction  made 
between  a  fine  Newfoundland  or  a  hound,  for  one 
makes  just  as  good  soup  as  another.  Out  of  each 
litter  of  pups  several  are  selected  and  carefully  fed 
for  three  or  four  weeks  to  fatten  them  well.  Then 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR. 


347 


the  poor  doggies  are  struck  on  the  head  and  killed, 
and  after  being  hastily  washed  in  the  creek  and 
singed  to  remove  the  hair,  are  thrown  in  the  pot. 
Blood,  brains,  and  entrails,  bones  and  meat,  all  com 
bine  to  make  a  stew,  palatable  alone  to  the  Sioux, 
disgusting  to  white  men. 

"  One  day  the  residents  and  visitors  at  Pine  Ridge 


RATIONS  ISSUED  AT  PINE  RIDGE  AGENCY. 

were  startled  by  the  arrival  of  a  humbug  Messiah, 
Many  jokes  were  cracked  at  the  expense  of  enter 
prising  reporters,  who  rushed  pell-mell  to  the 
agent's  office  to  gaze  on  the  Sioux  Saviour.  Promi 
nent  among  those  who  strained  muscle  and  eye  in 
the  eager  throng  was  Cressey,  of  the  Omaha  Bee, 
Hearing  of  the  capture  of  Messiah  Hopkins  by  the 
Indian  police  while  that  individual  was  delivering 


348  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

*  his  holy  message  '  to  the  savages,  Cressey  rushed 
with  great  haste  to  Gen.  Brooke's  headquarters, 
and  bursting  into  the  room,  much  to  the  surprise  of 
the  officers  there  assembled,  gasped  out  in  stutter 
ing  accents : 

"  *  Ha — ,  he — ,  ha — ,  have  y — ,  y — ,  you  got  Christ 
in  the  guard-house  ?' 

"  Hopkins  was  a  crank.  Out  of  pity  for  him  the 
General  only  confined  him  one  day,  and  then  sent 
an  escort  to  conduct  him  to  the  railroad,  from 
whence  he  was  shipped  back  East  to  his  people.  As 
he  left  the  agency  a  rough  crowd  gathered  to  see 
him  off.  Every  one  looked  upon  the  man  as  a  fa 
natic.  Even  the  Sioux  took  no  stock  in  his  state 
ments,  although  it  has  been  said  in  many  news 
papers  that  the  Indians  regretted  the  departure  of 
the  Messiah.  As  the  buggy  sped  away  toward 
Rushville  some  wag  proposed  a  yell  for  the  Mes 
siah,  and  willing  throats  of  both  soldiers  and  Indians 
gave  vent  to  a  mighty  roar,  which  certainly  must 
have  been  heard  several  miles  distant. 

A  THIRSTY  INDIAN  DRINKS  ACID. 

"  In  spite  of  the  laws  against  the  sale  of  whisky 
or  the  bringing  of  it  upon  the  reservation,  there  is 
not  a  little  to  be  found  in  the  tents  of  officers,  so  I 
am  informed.  The  Sioux,  sharp-witted  as  they  are, 
keep  an  ever-watchful  eye  open  for  bottles  and  jugs. 
By  way  of  illustration  : 

"  The  photographer  from  Omaha,  Mr.  Morledge, 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  349 

brought  a  large  quart  flask  filled  with  acid  to  de 
velop  the  negatives  he  took. 

"  The  fluid  had  a  color  similar  to  the  cheap  whisky 
sold  in  the  West. 

"  One  day  George  Beef  Lights  (who  sang  ghost 
dance  songs  for  me  and  interpreted)  came  into  the 
reporter's  headquarters.  Spying  the  flask  he  cried, 
*  Give  me  minnewahan,' 

"  '  No,  no,'  I  replied,  '  it's  bad,  it's  poison/  I  was 
seated  in  a  corner  far  oft,  reading,  and  before  I 
could  spring  from  my  chair  he  had  seized  the  flask 
and  raised  it  to  his  lips. 

"  One  swallow,  a  strangling  sound,  the  jingling 
of  broken  glass  as  he  dashed  the  bottle  on  the  floor, 
and  he  ran  out  of  the  door  yelling  and  coughing. 
We  were  convulsed  with  laughter,  for  it  was  very 
amusing  to  see  the  maddest  Indian  in  Pine  Ridge 
running  around  the  yard,  holding  his  stomach  and 
shouting.  The  police  came  up  to  ascertain  the 
trouble,  and  they  laughed,  too,  when  we  told  them. 
George  never  came  to  see  me  afterward,  and  I  sup 
pose  he  longs  for  my  scalp,  although  really  I  had  no 
part  in  the  unfortunate  affair. 

"  The  bravest  man  in  the  employ  of  the  Govern 
ment,  one  whose  duty  as  Marshal  compels  him  to 
arrest  desperate  characters,  both  white  and  red,  is 
George  E.  Bartlett.  He  was  the  first  white  man  to 
visit  No  Water's  camp  on  Wounded  Knee  Creek, 
and  there  arrest  an  Indian  named  Little,  who  had 
drawn  a  knife  on  Agent  Royer.  Bartlett  was  ac- 


3JO  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

companied  by  several  police,  and  by  prompt  pre 
sentation  of  Winchesters  secured  his  man  without 
firing  a  shot. 

"  The  Sioux  boys  and  girls  are  especially  interest 
ing.  Boys  are  the  same  the  world  over,  and  were 
you  to  approach  the  camps  with  your  ears  stopped 
so  that  you  could  not  distinguish  that  a  different 
language  from  your  own  was  being  spoken,  you 
would  believe  you  were  in  some  Eastern  village 
watching  the  gambols  of  the  town  lads.  Boys  play 
ball,  shinney,  run  foot-races,  and  shoot  at  a  mark  for 
small  prizes.  Many  a  time  have  I  put  a  nickel  in  a 
crotch  of  a  bush  to  see  them  knock  it  out  with  their 
spears  or  shoot  at  it  with  their  arrows.  A  few  of 
them  are  good  marksmen,  but  nearly  always  they 
miss  the  object  shot  at.  A  favorite  trick  with  them 
is  to  throw  the  spear  somewhat  like  a  boomerang. 
It  curves  far  to  one  side  of  the  bush,  then  shoots 
sideways  against  the  twigs,  and  by  violently  skaking 
them  causes  the  five-cent  piece  to  drop  to  the  ground. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  the  double  curves  performed  by 
the  spear  required  more  skill  upon  the  part  of  the 
thrower  than  would  a  fair  and  square  centre  hit. 

"The  lads  are  full  of  fun.  They  appreciate  kind 
ness  more  than  do  the  men.  I  had  given  them  many 
small  coins  and  tobacco,  and  they  showed  their 
gratitude  by  running  after  me  in  an  enormous  crowd 
whenever  I  approach  the  camp,  crying,  *  Muzza-ska, 
muzza-ska'  (Money,  money)! 

''The  missionaries  and  philanthropists  from  the 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR.  351 

East  are  greatly  shocked  upon  entering  a  tepee  to 
see  the  women  and  children  smoking.  One  portly 
gentleman  from  Philadelphia  said  to  me : 

"  *  Why,  even  the  little  girls  cry  for  cigarettes.  It 
is  dreadful  to  think  of  the  money  raised  by  holy 
men  and  women  East  should  be  squandered  by 
these  degraded  people  for  tobacco/  And  the  old 
man  was  right.  The  children  actually  cry  for  a 
smoke.  I  have  seen  little  boys  and  girls  barely  four 
years  of  age  begging  for  a  cigarette.  When  it  was 
given  them  already  lighted  they  would  suck  away 
at  it  with  remarkable  bravery.  The  tears  would 
roll  down  their  cheeks  and  they  would  begin  to  get 
sick,  but  they  would  not  throw  away  the  '  weed ' 
until  it  was  smoked  down  to  a  short  stub. 

"  The  philanthropist  would  have  been  more  deeply 
shocked  could  he  have  seen  the  treatment  the  bar 
rels  of  clothing  shipped  to  the  Sioux  receive — how 
the  overcoats  are  sold  for  thirty  cents  or  a  dollar, 
the  trousers  and  coat  ditto.  It  is  claimed  that  not 
one  farmer  or  ranchman  out  of  a  hundred  living 
within  fifty  miles  of  the  agency  ever  buys  clothes  in 
town.  He  can  get  good  ones  for  a  mere  trifle  of 
the  Indians  after  the  quarterly  'missionary  goods' 
come. 

"  Indian  women  age  much  more  rapidly  than  white 
women.  They  are  compelled  to  do  much  hard  out 
side  work,  and  consequently  the  furrows  of  age 
creep  into  their  cheeks  at  an  early  period  in  their 
lives.  The  girl  before  marriage  has  a  decidedly 


352  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

easy  time.  She  receives  callers  just  as  do  the 
young  ladies  of  civilization.  The  youths  vie  with 
each  other  in  discoursing  sweet  strains  upon  the  lov 
er's  flute  near  her  father's  lodge.  Admiring  young 
men  bring  presents,  or  lie  in  wait  near  her  home  to 
speak  to  her  words  of  love  the  moment  that  she  ap 
pears. 

*  When  marriage  binds  her  to  her  husband  there 
comes  about  a  complete  change.  She  associates 
entirely  with  married  women,  and  does  not  mingle 
with  former  friends.  She  believes  that  her  husband 
should  only  assist  her  when  she  is  unable  to  per 
form  any  task  herself,  and  takes  the  same  pride  in 
doing  all  the  work  that  she  possibly  can  that  a  white 
woman  does  in  keeping  her  home  in  order.  She 
would  no  more  think  of  permitting  her  husband  to 
do  all  the  hard  work  than  would  the  wife  of  to-day 
expect  her  husband  to  take  care  of  her  house,  or  a 
husband  request  his  wife  to  help  him  at  his  office. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

INDIANS  AND  SETTLERS. 

MIXED  CIVILIZATION  AT  RUSHVILLE — THE  COWBOY  AT  HOME — INDIAN 
LOAFERS — THE  CIGARETTE  HABIT — "  THEMDAMINJUNS  " — STORIES  OF 
A  VETERAN  FRONTIERSMAN — UNAPPRECIATED  ARCHITECTURE — WHITE 
GHOST — BADLY  SCARED. 

The  town  and  railroad  station  nearest  to  Pine 
Ridge  is  Rushville,  Neb.,  which  is  about  twenty 
miles  away;  a  place  of  a  1,000  or  more  inhabitants. 
Mr.  F.  H.  Carruth  has  given  a  picturesque  account 
of  it  as  it  appeared  to  him  in  1 886  and  of  the  semi- 
civilized  Indians  and  the  semi-savage  white  settlers. 

"Rushville,"  he  says,  "was  at  this  time  a  queer 
combination  of  Eastern  and  Western  civilization. 
The  iown  was  about  a  year  old,  having  been  built 
when  the  Fremont,  Elkhorn  and  Missouri  Valley 
Railroad  went  through.  The  surrounding  country 
had  been  partly  settled  with  a  few  farmers  longer, 
and  the  stockmen  had  been  scattered  throughout  the 
region  for  a  number  of  years.  The  land  is  compara 
tively  level,  the  country  between  Gordon  and  Cha- 
dron  being  known  as  the  Antelope  Flats.  Most  oi 
the  town  was  on  one  street,  which  ran  at  right  angles 
353 


354  LrFE  ojr  SITTING  BULL 

to  the  railroad  track  and  the  law  office  of  Judge 
Trott,  late  of  the  Des  Moines  bar  ;  the  liquor  store 
of  Jim  Sandoz,  late  of  a  Denver  bar;  the  banking 
house  of  Langham  Brothers,  late  of  Chicago ;  the 
Niobrara  Gold  Mine  (gambling  establishment)  of 
Breckenridge  Potter,  late  of  St.  Louis,  and  the  First 
Baptist  Church,  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cartright,  late  of 
Brooklyn,  as  pastor,  stood  in  pleasing  and  cheerful 
proximity.  The  blacksmith  who  .shod  our  off  mule 
and  got  kicked  over  his  anvil  twice,  and  whose  shop 
stood  next  door  to  Mrs.  Julia  Grannett's  millinery 
store,  informed  me,  in  speaking  of  the  gambling 
house,  which  stood  between  the  bank  and  the  law 
yer's  office,  that  you  could  lose  your  money  in  one 
as  readily  as  in  the  others  ;  indeed,  he  would  prefer 
to  [take  his  chances  in  the  gambling  house,  having 
more  confidence  in  the  squareness  of  the  game.  It 
seemed  that  the  able  Judge  Trott  had  been  expelled 
from  the  Des  Moines  bar,  and  that  the  sagacious 
Langham  Brothers  lent  money  at  the  rate  of  4  per 
cent,  a  month;  so  perhaps  the  blacksmith  was 
right. 

"There  was,  as  I  said,  an  interesting  combination  of 
East  and  West  in  Rushville.  The  business  men  were 
nearly  all  from  the  East — from  'the  States/  at  least, 
which  expression  was  used  in  its  territorial  sense, 
notwithstanding  that  Nebraska  had  been  a  State  for 
years — but  the  stockmen  and  many  of  'the  farmers 
were  Western  men  of  the  most  pronounced  type. 
Every  man  from  outside  the  town— an j  they  made 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  355 

up  probably  three-quarters  of  those  on  the  streets — 
wore  big,  jingling  Mexican  spurs.  Indeed,  it  is  part 
of  the  religion  of  every  man  connected  with  a  West 
ern  stock  ranch  to  never  remove  his  spurs  on  any  oc 
casion  whatever,  with  the  possible  exception  of  when 
going  to  bed — and  there  are  occasions  in  the  life  of 
the  gay  and  exuberant  cowboy  when  the  formality  is 
humorously  omitted  even  at  the  time  of  retiring, 
and  the  hotel  landlord  is  confronted  in  the  morning 
with  a  hopeless  tangle  of  spurs,  cowboy  and  bed- 
clothing.  Besides  their  spurs  the  men  also  wore  big 
felt,  or  buckskin  hats,  with  the  wide  leather  bands 
which  are  also  peculiar  to  stockmen,  and  many  of 
them  leather  or  goatskin  chaparejos,  or  leggings. 
The  business  men  wore  the  ordinary  attire  observed 
in  any  American  city  ;  but  it  was  considered  among 
them  that  some  concession  should  be  made  to  their 
newly-made  Western  friends  and  patrons  in  the 
matter  of  dress,  so  they  hit  upon  the  happy  plan  of 
wearing  the  wide,  heavy  leather  bands  on  their  ordi 
nary  stiff  or  soft  Eastern  hats.  To  see  a  promising 
young  physician  start  out  on  his  professional  rounds 
wearing  a  derby  hat  of  the  latest  New  York  shape, 
with  a  thick,  embossed  leather  band  two  inches  wide, 
and  fastened  with  a  big  silver  buckle  around  it,  is  a 
sight  only  occasionally  afforded  to  mortals.  I  did 
not  see  any  one  wearing  a  silk  hat  with  leather 
band,  though  it  was  gravely  stated  that  Judge  Trott 
wore  such  an  astonishing  combination  Sundays.  So 
far  as  we  could  learn,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cartright,  late 


356  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

of  Brooklyn,  was  the  only  man  in  town  who  still 
held  out  against  this  custom.  Indeed,  it  was  not 
strictly  a  local  idea,  as  we  found  the  same  thing 
obtained  at  other  towns  especially  at  Chadron  and 
Hay  Springs. 

"Besides  the  business  houses  there  were,  of 
course,  a  number  of  residences  scattered  about  on 
the  prairie  near  at  hand,  though,  like  other  Western 
towns,  a  much  smaller  number  in  proportion  than 
will  be  found  in  an  Eastern  village,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  so  many  of -the  businessmen  are  unmar 
ried.  There  was  a  business-like  air  about  the 
place,  though  it  was  hard  to  tell  exactly  what  kind 
of  business  was  going  on.  Judging  from  appear 
ances  only  any  one  would  have  said  that  the  leading 
industry  was  the  buying  and  shipping  of  buffalo 
bones.  Across  the  railroad  track  there  are  great 
heaps  of  buffalo,  deer,  elk  and  antelope  bones, 
which  had  been  gathered  in  the  surrounding  country 
and  brought  to  town  and  sold  to  dealers,  who  ship 
ped  them  to  fertilizer  factories  to  be  ground  up.  A 
half-dozen  freight  cars  were  being  loaded  with  them. 
Among  the  piles  were  many  magnificent  elk  antlers 
and  fine  specimens  of  great,  broad  buffalo  skulls, 
some  of  them  still  retaining  their  black  horns.  The 
Antelope  Flats  were  formerly  favorite  feeding 
grounds  of  the  buffalo  before  they  were  extermina 
ted  by  butchers  and  other  hunters. 

"  Near  the  bone  piles,  and  evidently  thankful  that 
it  was  not  in  them,  was  a  pet  antelope,  a  young  one, 


AXD  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  357 

and  as  beautiful  as  any  gazelle  ever  dreamed  of  by 
poet.  Indeed,  it  gave  a  poetical  touch  to  the  whole 
town,  and  toned  down  the  incongruity  of4  the  hat 
bands.  It  was  in  a  yard  in  front  of  a  real  estate 
office,  and  was  as  tame  as  possible.  The  town  dogs 
seemed  to  pay  no  attention  to  it,  reserving  their 
scowling  looks  and  unfriendly  glances  for  the  many 
Sioux  Indians  who  '  loafed '  about  the  streets. 
These  Indians  were  from  the  Pine  Ridge,  and  are 
the  truants  who  are  now  out  in  the  Bad  Lands  de 
fying  that  sanguinary  institution  known  as  the  Uni 
ted  States  Government.  Most  of  them  were  genuine 
wild  Indians,  slightiy  tamed  by  the  use  of  cigarettes, 
and  with  the  murderous  eyes  and  cruel  mouths  of 
full-fledged  cut-throats.  However,  they  were  per 
fectly  harmless  at  that  time,  and  no  one  could  watch 
their  indolent  motions  without  being  impressed  with 
the  idea  that  so  long  as  they  were  honestly  treated 
and  well  fed  that  they  would  remain  harmless,  their 
very  laziness  under  the  soothing  influence  of  a  full 
stomach  preventing  their  breaking  out.  They 
lounged  about  all  over  town,  and  lent  picturesque 
ness  to  the  scene.  They  went  a  step  further  than 
the  business  men  in  their  costume,  and  combined 
elements  of  the  savage,  the  cowboy,  the  United 
States  soldier,  and  the  man  of  fashion.  Some  of 
them  had  succeeded  in  giving  up  everything  of  the 
savage  except  the  backskin  moccasins,  with  elk-hide 
soles  and  bright  porcupine  quill-work  on  the  insteps 
and  toes.  The  Sioux  do  not  seem  to  rise  to  bead- 


358  UF&  OF  SITTING  BULL 

work  like  many  other  tribes  of  Indians.  However 
dirty  or  torn  an  Indian's  clothes  might  be,  or  un 
combed  his  hair,  or  unwashed  his  face  and  hands, 
there  was  invariably  one  thing  about  his  make-up 
in  the  clearest  and  best  possible  condition — namely, 
his  Winchester,  fifteen-shot,  forty-five  calibre  rifle. 
Why  he  needed  a  rifle  at  all,  since  there  was  no 
game  to  kill,  I  do  not  know,  but  he  is  certainly  find 
ing  it  very  handy  from  his  own  point  of  view,  now 
that  he  has  *  gone  out.'  They  were  all  very  well 
provided,  too,  with  hardy  little  ponies,  another  thing 
which  they  find  convenient  since  they  rebelled 
against  the  great  white  father.  But  what  struck  the 
observer  the  most  forcibly  about  a  great  many  of 
them  was  their  smoking  cigarettes.  A  weak  and 
flimsy  paper  cigarette  seemed  as  out  of  place  in 
the  mouth  of  a  heartless  old  savage,  who  perhaps 
went  through  the  Minnesota  massacre  of  1862,  and 
killed  his  quota  of  women  and  children,  as  did  the 
cowhide  band  on  the  silk  hat  of  the  brilliant  Judge 
Trott.  No  one  to  have  seen  them  would  have  be 
lieved  that  in  four  years  they  would  be  again  on 
the  warpath,  and  once  more  killing  women  and 
children.  After  observing  the  cigarettes  I  looked 
about  expecting  to  see  a  young  buck  come  riding  in 
wearing  a  monocle  screwed  in  one  eye.  But  not 
withstanding  that  they  were  peaceable,  we  found 
throughout  the  whole  country  a  vague,  undefined 
fear  of  an  Indian  outbreak.  Little  was  heard  of  it 
in  the  towns,  but  among  the  settlers  in  the  country 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  359 

it  was  everywhere.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  there  was 
scarcely  a  settler  along  the  whole  reservation,  from 
Niobrara  to  Chadron,  and  beyond  up  into  the  Black 
Hills,  who  did  not  have  at  least  one  modern  repeat 
ing  rifle  in  his  house  as  bright  and  well-kept  as  the 
Indians'.  There  was  an  uneasy,  anxious  feeling 
everywhere.  Women  and  children  were  seldom 
left  alone  in  the  houses  while  the  men  were  away 
very  far.  The  feeling  seemed  to  be  much  like 
that  which  a  man  would  have  in  a  cage  of  tame  lions 
or  tigers — there  were  grave  doubts  as  to  the  thor 
oughness  of  the  taming.  And  with  it  all,  I  regret 
to  say,  there  was  a  decided  lack  of  confidence  in 
the  army,  whether  well-founded  or  not  I  will  not  pre 
tend  to  say.  And  it  seems  that  the  settler's  fears 
were  not  unreasonable  after  all,  now  that  the  out 
break  has  taken  place." 

Although  the  moment  there  is  a  rumor  of  war,  the 
white  people  are  quick  to  take  alarm  and  to  cry  for 
the  army  to  come  and  protect  them,  in  the  piping 
times  of  peace  they  have,  or  profess  to  have,  only 
contempt  for  their  red  neighbors.  At  the  Brule 
(Sioux)  Agency  at  South  Dakota,  there  is  a  ferry 
across  the  Missouri  River ;  a  rowboat  manned  by  a 
veteran  white  settler.  He  has,  relates  Mr.  L.  E. 
Quigg,  who  "interviewed"  him  not  long  ago,  one 
set  phrase  in  which  he  speaks  of  the  redskin.  He 
always  uses  it  as  if  it  were  a  single  word,  thus: 
"Themdaminjuns  !"  And  as  he  guides  you  along  un 
der  the  shadow  of  the  steep  bluffs  that  overlook  the 


360  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

water  everywhere,  he  entertains  you  with  stories  of 
the  noble  savage. 

I  use  ter  think  they  wern't  no  virtoo  't  all  in  them- 
daminjuns,  an'  thet  th'  on'y  way  ter  make  'em  good 

CHANGED  HIS  OPINION, 

was  with  a  gun.  But  I've  sorter  changed  my  'pinion. 
Onct  in  erwhile  you  kin  ketch  rale  good  fellers 
'mongst  'em.  I  saved  one  of  'em  from  drownin'  a 
couple  o'  weeks  ergo,  an'  he  was  thet  grateful  he 
offered  me  my  choice  between  ten  head  o'  ponies 
an'  his  wife.  He  said  I  needn't  feel  no  constraint 
'bout  takin'  'em,  fer  the  Guv'ment  'ud  give  him 
more  ponies  and  he  could  make  out  ter  find  another 
wife.  They  looks  at  ponies  an'  women  in  the  same 
way,  On'y  the  woman  lasts  longer  an'  Stan's  more 
abuse. 

"Then  they  was  another  good  Injun  I  knowed 
onct.  He  was  a  p'leece  up  ter  Crow  Creek.  The 
agents  makes  all  ther  good  Injuns  p'leecemen  an* 
dresses  'em  up  in  blue  coats,  with  big  brass  buttons 
like  a  regular  p'leeceman.  A  wild  Injun  up  the 
river  had  murdered  another  an'  gone  off  in  the  prai 
ries  where  the  agent  couldn't  ketch  him.  So  he 
sent  this  good  Injun  fer  him  an'  tole  him  ter  be  sure 
an'  ketch  him.  He  was  gone  a  couple  o'  days  an' 
nights  an*  when  he  come  back  he  had  three  dead  In 
juns  layin'  acrost  his  pony.  Pinting  at  one  of  'em, 
he  says  to  the  agent :  '  You  tell  me  get  Lone  Eagle/ 
Then  he  poked  at  one  of  the  dead  with  his  gun,  an* 
a  sorter  cheerful  grunt.  The  agent  was  all 


RED  CLOUD 


THE  INDIAN  WAR.  363 

struck  of  a  heap.      'I  didn't   say  to  kill   nobody!' 
says  he, 

GET   LONE   EAGLE, 

"  '  Ugh  ! '  says  the  Injun.  '  You  say  get  Lone 
Eagle.  I  get  him.  Get  three,  no  carry  more.' 

"  '  More  !  '  says  the  agent,  turning  pale.  'What 
hev  you  bin  doin'  anyhow  ?  ' 

''The  Injun — his  name  was  White  Hawk — give 
a  grunt,  a  lurch  in  his  saddle,  and  fell  dead  acrost 
his  pony.  He  was  all  shot  ter  pieces,  but  they  went 
i.p  the  valley  a  stretch,  'bout  a  hundred  mile  er 
so,  an'  they  foun'  three  more  Injuns  layin'  in  a  gulch. 
He  was  tole  ter  ketch  Lone  Eagle,  an'  he  done  it. 

"  Thet  war  a  downright  good  Injun — they's  no 
denyin'  it,  but  the  most  'em  is  onery  devils.  I  was 
pullin'  a  man  down  here  onct,  a  Wyoming  man  from 
ther  Big  Horn  Mountains.  He  were  doin'  some 
guv-ment  work.  S'he,  '  You  got  a  fine  lot  er  Injuns 
down  this  way.'  S'l,  '  Think  so?'  S'he,  'Yes.' 
S'l,  '  Where  did  you  come  acrost  'em  ? '  S'he, 
'  Over  yonder/  S'l,  thinkin'  he  was  one  o'  them  In- 
juns'  Rights  folks  from  Philadelphy,  s'l  :  ,  Air  you 
stuck  on  Injuns  ?  '  S'he,  '  Not  by  a  dern  sight.'  S'l, 
4  Well,  wot  makes  you  think  they're  fine  ?  '  S'he 
'  Why,  they're  the  best  I  ever  saw/  S'he,  *  They're 
angels  'long  er  the  Injuns  up  our  way/  S'he,  '  We 
got  jist  the  goldarndest  lot  er  Injuns  in  the  Big 
Horn  Mount'ns  they  is  on  earth/  S'he,  '  I  tuck  a 
a  contrac'  las'  fall  from  ther  Guv'ment  ter  put  up 
$80,000  wuth  of  houses  fer  'em,  an*  you  never  see 


364  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL. 

nicer  little  houses  than  the  ones  I  put  up  for  them* 
daminjuns.  They  was  warm  an'  tight  an'  roofed 
with  shingles — better  houses  than  half  the  white 
folks  in  the  Territory's  got.  Well,  sir,  s'he,  'wo* 
d'you  s'pos  them  Injuns  went  an*  done?  They  tuck 
an'  stuck  their  teepees  'longsider  my  houses, 
$80.000  wuth,  min'  ye,  an'  when  winter  sot  in  they 
tore  down  every  single  solitary  house  an'  burnt  it 
up  fer  kindlin'  !  They  wasn't  one  of  'em  lef  stand- 
in'  by  New  Years/  " 

The  ferryman  dropped  his  oars,  and  laughed  till 
he  made  the  boat  bob  up  and  down  like  a  float  on  a 
fishing  line.  "  Them  Injuns'  Rights  folks/'  he  con- 

THEM  INDIANS'    RIGHTS  FOLKS  IN  PHIIADELPHY. 

tinued,  cutting  off  a  fresh  quid  of  tobacco  and  stow 
ing  it  away  in  his  cheek,  "  down  there  to  Philadel- 
phy,  means  all  right,  but  they  don't  know.  They 
got  ther  noshun  thet  our  people  is  alers  robbin'  the 
pore  Injun,  an'  every  time  we  suggests  anything 
they  sets  up  a  howl,  thinkin',  'ecause  it  comes  from 
us,  thet  it  must  be  bad.  1  jist  wish  they'd  come  out 
here  an'  stay  awhile.  They'd  change  their  idees 
'bout  how  ter  manage  the  Injun,  almighty  quick.  1 
wish  they  could  see  wot  you're  goin*  ter  see  to-day. 
You've  hit  on  one  o'  ther  show-days.  I'd  tell  you 
erbout  it,  on'y  I  don't  wanter  spile  yer  fun.  When 
you  come  back  you  won't  blame  us  fer  thinkin'  thet 
the  best  Injuns  is  the  dead  ones.  I  don't  objeck  ter 
their  havin'  their  rights,  but  ez  things  is  now,  they've 
got  a  blame  sight  more  rights  'n  white  people. 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  365 

They's  1,200  of  'em  at  thet  Agency.  It  costs  $150,- 
ooo  a  year  ter  keep  'em  in  food  and  clothes.  The 
Guv'ment  pays  $4.75  apiece  fer  blankets  ;  an'  ez 
soon's  they  gets  'em  they  comes  right  straight  over 
fter  Chamberlain  an' sells 'em  fora  dollar.  They 
'sells  everything  they  get— ponies,  clothes,  hats,  an' 
then  lies  'bout  it  ter  the  agent  an'  begs  or  steals 
more." 

"  Are  they  dangerous  ?  "  I  asked.  That  is,  are 
they  liable  to  break  out  ?  " 

"  They're  afeared.  They's  the  wust  cowards  you 
ever  see.  One  night  White  Ghost  come  down  ther 
river  ter  Chamberlain  an*  went  ter  see  a  man  wot 
was  shippin'  cattle  acrost  the  Reservation.  The 
cattle  had  been  eatin'  prairie  grass  along  ther  trail, 
an'  he  wanted  money  fer  it.  He  said  ef  he  didn't  git 
ther  money,  he'd  send  his  young  men  an*  take  ther 
cattle. 

"  '  Hev  you  many  wagons  to  your  camp,  Injun  ?  ' 
says  the  rancher. 

" '  Heap  wagon,  heap  pony,  heap  gun,'  says 
vVhite  Ghost. 

"'  You'll  need  'em  all,  Injun,'  says  the  rancher. 
1  Ef  you  come  around  botherin'  my  cattle,  be  sure 
ter  fetch  yer  wagons  erlong.' 

"  *  How  ?'  said  White  Ghost,  meanin'  'wot  fer  ?  ' 

"  '  Ter  cart  oft  the  bodies  of  yer  young  men,  In- 
iun,'  says  the  rancher. 

"White  Ghost  tuck  one  o*  them  quick  looks,  an', 
s'he,  '  Who  speaks  ?" 


366  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

"  '  Me  ! '  says  the  rancher.  *  I'm  a  big  warrior, 
Injun.  My  name's  Big  Gun  Thet  Allers  Kills,  an' 
I  fit  in  the  war  of  ther  Rebellion.  Hev  you  heerd 
'bout  that  war,  Injun  ?  ' 

"  White  Ghost  grunted,  an*  the  rancher  says,  s'he, 
'  Well,  I  was  there,  Injun/  s'he,  '  an*  I  killed  926 
men  in  one  day/ 

"  White  Ghost  humped  his  shoulders,  drored  his 
blanket  all  aroun*  him,  and  says,  s'he,  '  Ugh  ! '  s'he, 
an'  he  made  a  break  fer  the  door.  They  wasn't  no 
harm  come  to  them  cattle !  " 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

RED  CLOUD, 

A  LEADER  OF  THE  HOSTILE  INDIANS — His  TREACHEROUS  NATURE— RO 
MANTIC  STORY  OF  His  EARLY  YEARE — A  MISSION  TEACHER'S  AC 
COUNT  OF  HIM— His  DECEITFUL  WORDS  TO  A  VISITOR,  AND  His 
LETTER  TO  A  FRIEND, 

One  of  the  most  famous  and  most  hostile  of  the 
Sioux  chiefs  is  Red  Cloud.  He  has  for  many  years 
been  among  the  most  influential  men  in  the  whole 
nation,  and  his  influence  has  invariably  been  bad. 
He  has  visited  the  East  and  talked  with  the  Presi 
dent  at  Washington.  More  than  most  of  his  com 
rades  he  realizes  the  power  of  the  Government  and 
the  impossibility  of  successfully  resisting  it.  Yet  he 
has  been  a  most  persistent  instigator  of  outbreaks 
and  massacres,  and  has  played  a  leading  part  in 
the  troubles  of  1800-91.  The  insurrections  of  1882 
and  1884  were  due  entirely  to  him. 

At  the  same  time  he  has  managed  to  keep  a  pret 
ty  good  reputation.  He  is  crafty,  versatile,  and  able 
to  assume  an  air  of  the  most  sanctimonious  devout- 
ness,  even  while  he  is  plotting  deviltry.  His  bland 
and  suave  manners  won  him  many  friends  at  Wash- 
367 


368  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

ington.  and  he  has  generally  been  regarded  as  a 
•'good"  Indian,  loyal  and  peace-loving,  And 
whenever  he  has  .fomented  an  outbreak,  he  has 
taken  care  to  keep  in  the  background,  and  let  some 
one  else  catch  the  blame.  Says  a  young  lady  who 
was  brought  up  at  one  of  the  Sioux  agencies  : 
"  Red  Cloud,  Spotted  Tail,  Man-Afraid  of  His 
Horses  and  many  others  have  held  me  on  their 
knees  while  the  great  talks  '  with  my  father  trans 
pired.  All  would  with  grave  silence  sit  and  smoke, 
the  tomahawk  pipe  being  handed  from  one  to  the 
other,  without  the  utterance  of  a  word,  for  perhaps  an 
hour.  Then  a  short  harangue,  a  hand-shake  all  around, 
a  pat  on  my  curly  head,  regards  to  '  Capin's  squaw, 
(my  mother),  and  they  stalked  solemnly  away.  Old 
Spotted  Tail  had  named  me  '  Spuss-Kerriwe '  (Curly 
Head),  and  Spusskerriwe  I  have  remained  with 
them  to  this  day.  I  have  little  doubt  that  Red 
Cloud  would,  if  occasion  offered,  as  cheerfully  take 
a  scalp  from  Spusskerriwe's  head  as  of  old  he  pat 
ted  it  while  I  sat  on  his  knees.  At  least,  I  do  not 
feel  any  curiosity  to  prove  or  disprove  the  proposi 
tion."  ' 

A  sister  of  Red  Cloud  lives  at  Chattanooga, 
Tenn.,  and  she  tells  this  story  of  his  earlier  career  : 
When  but  three  years  old  he  was  stolen  from  his 
parents,  who  then  resided  in  Wisconsin  on  an  Indi 
an  reservation  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State,  and 
all  track  of  him  was  lost  for  eighteen  years,  when  he 
was  found  among  the  red  men,  having  been  brought 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  369 

up  by  them.  He  had  forgotten  his  own  name,  but 
remembered  that  of  his  father  and  his  dogs,  and  his 
identification  was  complete.  He  remained  with  his 
family  a  few  weeks,  speaking  English  imperfectly, 
but  French  fluently.  But  all  his  sympathies  were  with 
his  adopted  tribe,  and  he  rejoined  the  Sioux  to  the 
grief  of  his  parents,  and  brothers  and  sisters,  and 
has  since  then  been  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a 
semi-savage. 

Miss  Sickels,  a  prominent  mission  teacher,  among 
the  Sioux  has  known  Red  Cloud  well  for  years,  and 
this  is  her  account  of  him  : 

"  Across  from  the  boarding-school  of  the  Pine 
Ridge  Agency,  on  the  opposite  ridge,  separated  by 
the  hollow  of  the  creek,  is  a  two-story  frame  house, 
surrounded  by  some  desolate-looking  tepees,  a  few 
log  buildings  and  sweat-houses.  Wagons  and  wood- 

RED  CLOUD'S  HOUSE. 

piles  complete  the  settlement.  This  is  Red  Cloud's 
camp,  and  the  largest  house  is  his  residence — the 
only  two-story  dwelling  at  the  agency.  It  was  built 
for  Red  Cloud  to  distinguish  him  from  the  others  of 
his  band.  An  interview  with  the  old  man  would  fur 
nish  the  information  that  he  was  'the  leader  of  his 
people  and  always  wanted  them  to  do  good  ways. 
He  always  wanted  to  work  for  the  schools  and  for 
farms  and  for  the  Great  father.  He  did  not  want  his 
people  to  have  any  trouble.  He  had  stopped  the 
ghost-dance  among  them.  They  had  been  hungry, 
but  he  hoped  everything  would  be  all  right  now.  He 


370  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

wanted  his  people  to  do  good  ways.'  He  might 
vary  it  a  little,  but  'this  is  about  what  he  would  say 
to  you,  'slowly  and  in  a  solemn  and  impressive 
manner. 

"For  confirmation  of  this,  see  the  reports  in  the 
newspapers.  They  are  really  a  correct  statement 
of  the  interviews.  This  is  Red  Cloud's  formula  for 
interviews.  It  is  a  good  idea  to  believe  people — 


INTERIOR   O*    KED  CLOUD'S   HOUSE. 

when  you  can — but  sometimes  confidence  is  ex 
tremely  hazardous,  and  Red  Cloud's  deeds  and 
words  remind  one  of  what  the  man  said  about  his 
new  dictionary  when  he  had  tried  to  read  it :  '  Very 
interesting,  but  somehow  it  didn't  seem  to  hang  to 
gether.'  But  though  the  deeds  and  words  do  not 
seem  to  hang  together,  like  the  dictionary,  there  is 
a  purpose  running  through,  which  may  be  traced  by 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  371 

those  initiated  and  familiar  with  the  plan.  The  old 
mart  seems  ^to  have  threaded  himself  in  and  out 
among  all  of  the  plots  and  disturbances  of  which  I 
have  been  able  to  learn  anything.  I  do  not  have  to 
mention  his  name  nor  ask  any  leading  questions. 
It  is  only  necessary  to  take  the  part  of  listener  to 
the  casual  conversations  going  on  around  me.  I 
know  from  personal  experience  that  the  trouble  of 
1 88 1  and  1884  was  instigated  solely  by  him  in  his 
opposition  to  the  efforts  made  for  progress.  The 
threatened  outbreak  of  1884  had  its  origin  in  his 
cry  of  '  fraud — the  teachers  were  getting  the  children 
into  the  school  and  making  them  work  so  as  to  get 
money  out  of  them.'  When  he  could  not  get  the 
support  of  the  Sioux,  most  of  whom  despise  him,  he 
tried  to  involve  the  Cheyennes.  When  the  agent  with 
drew  the  rations  and  the  Cheyennes  decided  to  give 
their  support  to  the  school,  he  wrote  to  his  Eastern 
sympathizers  that  he  was  'the  leader  of  his  people  and 
the  agent  was  defrauding  them  out  of  their  rations/ 

"  This,  with  little  variation,  is  the  real  inside  his 
tory  of  most  of  the  trouble  there  has  ever  been  at 
Pine  Ridge  Agency,  and  there  must  be  some  special 
reason  why  it  is  now,  in  January,  1891,  the  centre 
of  hostilities.  There  is  often  a  great  discrepancy 
between  the  'true  inwardness'  of  a  thing  and  its 
outward  appearance. 

"  Having  had  experience  and  personal  knowledge 
of  Red  Cloud,  I  watched  closely  to  see  what  connec 
tion  he  may  have  had  with  this  present  affair. 


372  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

"  In  Washington  I  met  a  soldier  from  Fort  Wash- 
akie,  who  told  me  that  some  half  breeds  of  the  name 
of  Genneiss  had  been  there  among  the  ghost-dan 
cers  this  Summer,  and  that  there  was  fear  of  an 
outbreak  at  that  place.  This  was  significant,  for  the 
reason  that  the  Genneisses  are  among  the  most 
active  of  Red  Cloud's  'missionaries.' 

RED  CLOUD  A  MISCHIEF-MAKER. 

"  On  the  train  coming  from  Chicago  I  met  Judge 
Morris,  a  former  acquaintance,  who  told  me  that  a 
year  or  two  ago  the  Indians  had  come  down  to 
Chadron  from  Pine  Ridge  to  celebrate  the  Fourth 
of  July  with  an  Omaha  dance.  In  the  procession, 
composed  of  Indians  and  settlers,  that  accompanied 
the  performance,  Red  Cloud  insisted  upon  riding  in 
the  carriage  that  preceded  the  Mayor  and  other  dig 
nitaries.  He  was  so  threatening  in  his  manner  when 
they  hesitated  that  they  yielded  to  his  demands, 
*  fearing  an  outbreak.'  He  made  a  speech,  saying 
that  the  land  belonged  to  him  and  his  people,  and 
the  time  would  come  when  they  would  get  it  back. 
He  has  a  '  secretary,'  and  uses  his  assumed  power 
among  the  Indians  to  intimidate  the  whites  and  vice 
versa. 

"When  I  reached  the  agency  they  told  me  that 
Jack  Red  Cloud  had  been  the  leader  in  the  ghost 
dances  and  in  the  attack  that  led  to  the  appeal  for 
troops ;  but  that  now  he  had  '  reformed  '  and  was 
an  active  scout,  working  for  the  Government.  I 
discovered  that  by  a  strange  coincidence  the  reports 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  373 

that  he  brought  were  not  borne  out  by  facts.  Red 
Cloud  became  very  pious  and  solicitous  for  the  wel 
fare  of  'his  people,'  frequenting  the  office  constant 
ly.  An  officer  told  me  that  he  said,  '  Why  do  you 
discuss  the  plans  so  freely  before  Red  Cloud?'  He 
received  the  answer  :  '  He  doesn't  know  what  I  say:' 
but  glancing  suddenly  at  the  old  rascal's  face,  I 
could  see  by  the  twinkle  in  his  eye  that  he  had  un 
derstood. 

"  On  the  reservation  the  seat  of  the  greatest 
trouble  proved  to  be  at  Wounded  Knee.  Here  near 
ly  every  one  was  a  relative  of  Red  Cloud.  Teachers 
told  me  that  when  they  taught  at  that  camp  they 
felt  that  they  were  in  danger  most  of  the,  and  time 
had  constant  annoyances  ;  but  when  they  taught  at 
Little  Wound's  camp  they  felt  the  protection  of  Lit 
tle  Wound's  influence.  When  I  went  to  see  Little 
Wound  he  told  me  that  Red  Cloud  had  been  getting 
the  people  into  bad  ways,  and  when  folks  found  it 
out  he  did  not  want  to  be  blamed  for  it,  so  he  said 
it  was  Little  Wound  who  had  done  it.  This  is  prob 
ably  the  truth,  and  will  be  readily  believed  by  all 
who  are  acquainted  with  the  two  men. 

"  Two  ladies  from  a  neighboring  settlement  spent 
the  day  at  the  agency.  I  was  busily  writing  in  the 
room  where  they  sat,  discussing  the  times.  As 
seemed  to  be  inevitable  in  all  of  the  accounts,  the 
n?me  of  Red  Cloud  was  brought  in.  One  was  say 
ing  :  '  A  half-breed  stopped  at  my  house  yesterday 
afternoon.  He  said  something  about  Red  Cloud 


374  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

that  I  could  not  make  out  ;  but  I  caught  the  words, 
1  people — agency — sleep — then  Red  Cloud  ' — and 
he  grinned  and  drew  his  fingers  across  his  throat.' 
Major  Sword  and  Captain  Fast  Horse,  the  progres 
sive  leaders  of  the  Indian  police  force,  came  to  see 
me.  During  the  interview  they  told  me  that  'Red 
Cloud  always  tried  to  work  against  having  good 
ways  for  the  people,  and  would  do  different  from 
what  the  other  Indians  wanted  him  to  do,  and  he 
made  trouble  for  them. ' ' 

At  the  same  time  this  consummate  red  rascal 
would  talk  in  the  most  guileless  and  innocent  man 
ner.  To  a  visitor  in  the  latter  part  of  November, 
1890,  he  said  that  the  soldiers  had  come  again  to 
burn  his  house,  which  is  a  good  two-story  frame 
building,  the  same  as  Crook  did  fifteen  years  ago  at 
the  old  Red  Cloud  Agency ;  that  he  did  not  want  to 
fight,  but  would  if  pressed.  On  entering  the  camp 
the  first  thing  noticeable  was  the  fact  that  there  were 
nearly  400  war  ponies  in  his  large  corral,  being  fed 
and  kept  ready  for  instant  use  instead  of  being 
turned  out  to  graze.  On  being  asked  why  he  did 
not  turn  the  ponies  out,  he  replied,  that  he  was 
afraid  the  soldiers  would  steal  them  !  Then  he  sat 
down  and  wrote  as  follows  to  a  white  gentleman  at 
Omaha,  who  was  interested  in  him,  and  had  written 
to  him  about  the  troubles  :  "  My  friend,  your  letter 
of  November  iQth,  is  just  received,  and  in  reply 
would  say  that  the  soldiers  are  here,  but  I  don't 
know  what  they  are  here  for.  I  have  spoken  to  my 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  375 

people  and  told  them  I  don't  want  to  have  any  trou 
ble  with  the  soldiers  and  white  people  living  near 
here.  About  fifteen  years  ago  General  Crook  burnt 
my  house  near  where  Fort  Robinson  now  is,  then  I 
was  willing  to  fight.  It  looks  the  same  way  now, 
but  I  don't  want  to  have  any  trouble  with  the  sol 
diers  or  white  people,  and  will  not  fight  unless  I 
have  to.  I  am  too  old  now  to  make  war  against  the 
whites,  and  my  white  friends  here  have  advised  me 
against  war,  and  I  shall  take  their  advice.  My  mind 
is  too  weak  to  say  a  great  deal.  We  have  a  great 
many  schools  out  in  the  different  camps,  and  if  we 
go  to  war  what  will  become  of  our  schools  and 
children  ?"  He  also  wrote  to  a  gentleman  in  New 
York,  laying  the  blame  for  all  the  trouble  entirely 
upon  the  whites.  His  Indians,  he  said,  had  been 
engaged  in  the  ghost-dance,  but  it  would  soon  have 
died  out  but  for  the  War  Department's  action.  One 
morning  the  Indians  awoke  to  find  the  agency  sur 
rounded  by  soldiers.  Many  of  the  braves  ran  away 
but  were  followed  by  soldiers.  The  troops,  Red 
Cloud,  said,  committed  many  depredations  on  the 
Indians  at  Rosebud  Agency,  and  pillaged  their  vil 
lages.  The  braves  lost  their  possessions  and  many 
of  them  the  accumulations  of  years.  "  I  cannot 
imagine  what  all  this*  was  done  for,"  wrote  Red 
Cloud,  "  as  my  people  had  done  nothing  to  create 
any  alarm  among  the  whites.  My  heart  is  sad,  but 
I  still  have  a  little  hope  for  my  people." 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  LEADERS  OF  THE  SIOUX, 

LTTTLE  WOUND  AND  His  LIEUTENANTS — YELLOW  BEAR — YOUNG-MAW* 
AFRAID-OF-HIS  HORSES— OTTI,  THE  SHOSHONE— HIGH  BEAR— AMERI 
CAN  HORSE— JOHN  GRASS,  THE  INDIAN  JUDGE— GALL,  THE  GREATEST 
OF  THE  Sioux  WARRIORS  AND  GENERALS — SPOTTED  TAIL'S  ELOQUENT 
SPEECH. 

One  of  the  foremost  chiefs  in  the  recent  troubles 
was  Little  Wound,  who  had  for  his  lieutenants  Bro 
ken  Arm,  Yellow  Bear,  and  Yellow  Hair.  Little 
Wound  is  about  55  years  old,  a  fine  looking  man, 
six  feet  tall,  straight  as  an  arrow,  a  most  daring 
warrior,  brave  and  straight  forward  himself,  and  ap 
preciative  of  those  qualities  in  others.  He  has  al 
ways  been  on  the  side  of  peace  and  order  and  has 
been  a  leader  of  the  most  progressive  and  industri 
ous  Indians.  His  children  were  the  best  scholars 
in  the  agency  school  and  his  followers  dwelt  in  neat 
cabins  and  cultivated  fine  gardens.  He  often  spoke 
to  the  school  children  and  to  other  Indians,  urg 
ing  them  to  learn  how  to  work  and  how  "  to  make 
good  things  like  what  the  white  man  has."  In  the 
threatened  outbreak  in  1884  he  was  the  chief  actor 

376 


AND   THE  INDIAN    WAX. 


in  defending  the  whites  and  restraining  the  Indians 
from  hostility. 

GOOD  REASONS  FOR  THE  REBELLION  OF  1890. 

When  Little  Wound  joined  the  disaffected  Indians 

in  T  890,  the  event  was  regarded  as  most  significant 

It  was  known  that  he  would  not  adopt  such  a  course 

except  under  the  strongest  possible  provocation,  and 

it  was  felt  that  his  conduct  made  the  situation  most 

serious.     All  possible  efforts  were  made  to  pacify 

him  and  win  him  back.   Foremost  among  those  who 

made  such  an  appeal  to  him  was  Miss  E.  C.  Sickels, 

the  teacher  whose  school  the  chief's  children  had 

attended.    Moreover  when  the  notorious  Red  Cloud 

had  some  years  before  attempted  to  murder  Miss 

Sickels  and  her  companions,  Little  Wound  interfered 

and  saved  her  life.     When  Miss  Sickels  asked  him 

why  he  had  rebelled,  he  replied  that  he  was  very 

sorry  and  reluctant  to  do  so,  for  he  had  been  a  good 

friend  to  white  men  all  his  life.     But  now  his  people 

were  hungry.      They  did  not  get  more  money  when 

the  land  was  gone.    They  get  1,000,000  pounds  less 

beef  and  the  crops  had  not  been  good.     He  would 

like  to  have  his  men  have  farms  and  have  their  own 

houses  and  keep  them  and  stay  in  their  own  homes. 

He  was  a    church   man  (Episcopalian)  and  tried  to 

do  good  for  his  people.     But  now  they  were  hungry 

and  sick.      Bad  men  were  stealing  his  property.   He 

had  heard  about  the  Indian  Messiah  and  the  Ghost 

Dance,  and  wanted  to  see  if  it  was  true  and  if  this 

new  religion  would  help  the  Indians. 


378  LIFE  OF  SIT21XG  BULL 

To  another  visitor  Little  Wound  said  that  he  had 
given  up  hope  of  any  good  in  this  world.  He  did 
not  expect  that  the  Indian  Messiah  would  help  his 
people  in  this  life  but,  he  said,  <kit  will  be  better  for 
us  when  we  go  to  the  Spirit  Land."  "  What  do  you 
think,"  he  was  asked,  "the  Indian  should  do  to  bet 
ter  his  condition?"  "The  only  way,"  said  Little 
Wound,  "  he  can  get  anything  is  by  work,  but  he 
can't  get  any  money  by  working  because  there  is  no 
one  here  who  has  money  to  pay  for  work.  If  things 
keep  on  as  they  are  now  my  people  will  all  starve  to 
death,  they  will  all  die  paupers."  He  added  that  he 
would  stop  the  Ghost  Dances  among  his  followers 
whenever  General  Miles  or  the  agent  said  so  ;  and 
he  kept  his  word. 

Yellow  Bear  said  :  "All  white  men  think  we  are 
all  bad."  But  he  used  his  influence  also  to  aid  his 
chief,  Little  Wound,  in  restraining  the  Indians  from 
hostility  and  in  checking  the  Ghost  Dances. 

Young- Man-Afraid-of-His-Horses  is  one  of  the 
ablest  of  the  Sioux  chiefs,  and  he  too  has  generally 
been  friendly  to  the  white  men  and  progressive. 
His  name  really  means  not  that  he  is  afraid  of  his 
horses  but  that  he  is  careful  of  them,  afraid,  that  is, 
of  their  being  hurt  or  stolen. 

Otti,  chief  of  the  Shoshones,  is  a  man  of  great 
importance  among  the  Indians.  He  is  wise  in  coun 
cil,  and  his  advice  is  always  considered  good  by  the 
Indians.  He  has  always  been  slow  to  break  peace 
with  the  white  men,  but  once  on  the  war-path  has 


CHIEF  JOHN  GRASS. 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  381 

been  one  of  the  most  dangerous  of  all  his  tribe. 
He  is  more  than  70  years  old,  but  looks  and  acts 
like  a  man  of  50.  His  following,  however,  does  not 
include  more  than  500  warriors. 

High  Bear,  chief  of  the  Ogallallas,  comes  from 
the  Wood  Mountain  country  in  the  far  north.  He 
is  about  50  years  and  is  a  most  dangerous  enemy. 

American  Horse  is  a  pretty  mean  Indian,  greatly 
resembling  his  friend  Red  Cloud.  He  has  been 
well  described  as  a  coward,  a  liar,  a  braggart,  am 
bitious  and  deceitful  both  to  the  reds  and  the  whites. 
His  band  is  a  small  one,  numbering  only  15  lodges. 
But  he  has  always  tried  to  make  the  Indians  believe 
that  he  was  backed  up  by  the  agent  and  the  troops, 
and  he  has  tried  to  make  the  agent  believe  that  he 
had  the  whole  Indian  race  at  his  back. 

JOHN  GRASS  AN  INTELLECTUAL  GIANT, 

A  couple  of  years  ago  the  Hon.  Charles  Foster, 
chairnan  of  the  Sioux  Commission  said  :  "  At  Stand 
ing  Rock,  we  met  a  man  whose  strong  sense  would 
be  conceded  anywhere,  and  who  struck  me  as  an  in 
tellectual  giant  in  comparison  with  other  Indians. 
He  is  known  to  the  white  men  as  John  Grass  and  to 
the  Indians  as  Charging  Bear,  and  by  reason  of  his 
superior  mind  is  the  most  prominent  on  the  reserva 
tion.  He  could  not  be  the  leader  he  is,  however, 
were  he  not  known  also  to  be  brave.  His  speech 
in  answer  to  the  proposition  we  submitted  to  his 
tribe  for  a  possession  of  part  of  their  territory  was 
by  far  the  ablest  we  heard,  by  any  chief  of  any 


382  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL.   ' 

following  at  all,  addressed  to  us.  His  speech  shows 
that  he  understood  the  treaties  and  acts  of  Congress 
with  a  regard  to  detail  beyond  the  grasp  of  most  In 
dians."  This  chief  is  the  presiding  judge  of  the 
Court  of  Indian  offenses,  being  himself  head  chief 
of  the  Black  Feet  Sioux.  There  are  few  Indians  now 
living  who  have  done  more  than  he  for  the  best  in 
terests  of  their  race. 

CHIEF  GALL,  COMMANDER  OF  THE  CUSTER  MASSACRE, 

A  friend  of  John  Grass  and  associate  Judge  of  his 
Court,  is  Chief  Gall,  the  head  of  the  Unk-pa-pa 
Sioux  and  leader  of  the  progressive  element  in  that 
band  Years  ago  he  was  a  friend  and  comrade  of 
Sitting  Bull,  but  after  the  Custer  massacre  on  the 
Little  Big  Horn,  there  was  a  bitter  rivalry  between 
them.  Gall  was  the  actual  commander  of  the  Indians 
in  the  field  at  that  battle,  Sitting  Bull  remaining  in 
his  tent,  "  making  medicine,"  and  conducting  the 
outlandish  incantations  that  were  supposed  to  con 
trol  the  fortunes  of  the  day.  After  the  battle  Gall 
wanted  to  make  peace  with  the  whites  and  in  this 
desire  he  was  supported  by  most  of  the  leading  war 
riors.  Sitting  Bull  on  the  contrary  was  for  holding 
out  and  retreating  into  Canada,  and  in  this  he  was 
supported  by  nearly  all  the  medicine,  men.  These 
opposing  policies  split  the  band  into  two  factions, 
and  the  result  was  that  Gall,  with  Crow  King  and 
many  other  of  the  ablest  fighting  men  surrendered 
long  before  Sitting  Bull  did.  Indeed  it  was  their 
secession  that  forced  Sitting  Bull  into  subjection, 


LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL  383 

Gall  is  an  uncommonly  brave  man  and  is  a  General 
as  well  as  a  soldier.  His  ability  to  handle  effectively 
a  large  force  of  Indians  in  the  field  is  acknowledged 
by  all  military  authorities  who  know  him.  He  has 
always  retained  his  native  dignity  and  in  all  his  ne 
gotiations,  has  acted  with  the  utmost  courtesy  and 
decorum.  He  is  a  man  of  unquestioned  honesty. 
His  love  for  his  people  is  sincere.  He  has  never 
masqueraded  as  a  patriot  merely  to  serve  selfish 
ends. 

The  sentiments  of  the  progressive  element  among 
the  Indians  to  ward  ^  the  whites  and  toward  civiliza 
tion  was  eloquently  expressed  by  the  famous  Sioux 
chief,  Spotted  Tail,  now  dead,  in  his  address  to  a 
Government  Commission  in  1877.  He  said  : 

"  My  friends,  your  people  have  both  intellect  and 
heart ;  you  use  these  to  consider  in  what  way  you 
can  do  the  best  to  live.  My  people,  who  are  here 
before  you,  are  precisely  the  same.  I  see  that  my 
friends  before  me  are  men  of  age  and  dignity,  and 
men  of  that  kind  have  good  judgment,  and  consider 
well  what  they  do.  I  infer  from  that,  that  you  are 
here  to  consider  what  shall  be  good  for  my  people 
for  a  long  time  to  come.  I  think  each  of  you  has 
selected  somewhere  a  good  piece  of  land  for  himself 
with  the  intention  to  live  on  it,  that  he  may  there 
raise  his  children.  My  people  are  not  different. 
We  also  live  upon  the  earth  and  upon  things  that 
come  to  them  from  above.  We  have  the  same 
thoughts  and  desires  in  that  respect  that  the  white 


384  AND  THE  M&IAN  WAR* 

people  have.  This  is  the  country  where  they  were 
born,  where  they  have  acquired  all  their  property, 
their  children  and  their  horses.  You  have  come 
here  to  buy  this  country  of  us ;  and  it  would  be 
well  if  you  would  come  with  the  goods  you  propose 
to  give  us,  and  to  put  them  out  of  your  hand  so  we. 
can  see  the  good  price  you  propose  to  pay  for  it 
Then  our  hearts  would  be  glad. 

My  friends  when  you  go  back  to  the  Great  Father, 
I  want  you  to  tell  him  to  send  us  goods  ;  send  us 
yokes  and  oxen,  and  give  us  wagons  so  we  can  earn 
money  by  hauling  goods  from  the  railroads.  This 
seems  to  be  a  very  hard  day  ;  half  of  our  country 
is  at  war,  and  we  have  come  upon  very^  difficult 
times.  This  war  did  not  spring  up  here  in  our  land. 
It  was  brought  upon  us  by  the  children  of  the  Great 
Father,  who  came  to  take  our  land  from  us  without 
price,  and  who  do  a  great  many  evil  things,  the  Great 
Father  and  his  children  are  to  blame  for  this  trouble. 
We  have  here  a  storehouse  to  hold  our  provisions, 
but  the  Great  Father  sends  us  very  little  provisions 
to  put  into  our  storehouse,  and  when  our  people  be 
come  displeased  with  our  provisions  and  have  gone 
north  to  hunt,  the  children  of  the  Great  Father  are 
fighting  them.  It  has  been  our  wish  to  live  here 
peaceably,  but  the  Great  Father  has  filled  it  with 
soldiers  who  think  only  of  our  death.  Some  of  our 
people  who  have  gone  from  here  in  order  that  they 
may  have  a  change,  and  others  who  have  gone  north 
to  hunt,  have  been  attacked  by  the  soldiers  from 


OF  SITTING  BULL.  385 

other  directions  ;  and  now,  when  they  are  willing  to 
come  back,  the  soldiers  stand  between  them  and 
keep  them  from  coming  home.  It  seems  to  rne 
there  is  a  better  way  than  this.  When  people  come 
to  trouble  it  is  better  for  both  parties  to  come  to 
gether  without  arms,  talk  it  over,  and  find  some 
peaceful  way  to  settle." 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  WAR. 

DAKOTA  SETTLERS  PANIC-STRICKEN — GENERAL  MILES  ON  THE  SITUA 
TION — PINE  RIDGE  REGARDED  AS  THE  FATAL  POINT — ROSEBUD 
INDIANS  BREAK  LOOSE — TROOPS  HURRIED  TO  THE  SCENE — A  COAL 
MINE  FOR  A  FORT— A  NIGHT'S  ALARM— A  MUCH-SCARED  SAD 
DLER — GOVERNOR  MELLETTE'S  LETTER. 

About  the  middle  of  November,  1890,  it  became 
evident  to  everybody  that  there  was  serious  trouble 
ahead.  The  Indians  had  massed  themselves  to 
gether  in  a  menacing  attitude,  and  threatened  vio 
lence  unless  their  wrongs  were  redressed.  The  au 
thorities  did  not  deny  the  existence  of  the  wrongs, 
but  demanded  the  entire  submission  of  the  Indians 
as  an  indispensable  preliminary  to  any  discussion 
of  the  matter.  As  for  the  settlers  in  the  Dakotas 
and  elsewhere  near  the  reservations,  they  became 
abjectly  panic-stricken.  They  huddled  together  in 
mass-meetings  and  clamored  wildly  for  protection, 
for  arms,  for  troops,  for  cannon,  for  the  whole  mili 
tary  strength  of  the  nation.  They  looked  for  a  rep 
etition  of  the  horrors  of  the  first  Sioux  war,  and 
were  alarmed  beyond  description.  At  Mandan, 
North  Dakota,  the  panic  reached  its  height.  It  was 
386 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR.  387 

rumored  that  the  Indians  were  about  to  sack  and 
burn  the  town  and  massacre  the  inhabitants.  Set 
tlers  from  all  about  moved  in  to  the  city  for  shelter, 
and  the  people  of  the  city  held  mass-meetings,  and 
asked  for  arms  and  ammunition.  Resolutions  were 
adopted  calling  on  the  President  and  Secretary  of 
War  to  protect  them.  All  sorts  of  stories  were 
afloat,  and  all  found  ready  credence.  One  evening, 
it  was  said,  two  Indians  at  Mandan  went  into  a  hard 
ware  store  and  called  for  ammunition,  The  store 
keeper  asked  what  they  wanted  it  for,  and  they  said 
to  shoot  white  men,  and  they  drew  imaginary  scalp- 
ing-knives  around  their  heads.  A  settler  named 
Ardrom  came  from  ten  miles  out  of  town  and  stated 
that  six  Indians  camped  near  his  place  that  morn 
ing.  He  told  them  to  be  careful  of  fire.  They 
told  him  to  mind  his  own  business,  and  ominously 
tapped  their  guns,  showed  their  ammunition,  and 
drew  their  fingers  about  the  tops  of  their  heads.  At 
Bismarck,  too,  a  reign  of  terror  prevailed,  and  peo 
ple  gravely  talked  of  the  probability  of  that  city  be 
ing  destroyed  by  the  Sioux. 

MILITARY  PRECAUTIONS. 

Gen.  Ruger,  at  St.  Paul,  and  Gen.  Miles,  at  Chi 
cago,  were  watchful,  but  did  not  share  in  the  panic 
of  the  people.  Orders  were  issued  for  the  troops 
at  Fort  Yates  and  Fort  Lincoln  to  keep  in  readiness 
for  marching  at  short  notice.  The  seven  companies 
at  Cheyenne,  Wyoming,  received  similar  orders,  and 
so  did  those  at  Fort  Robinson,  Nebraska,  Gen* 


388  LIFE    OF  SITTING   BULL 

Miles  regarded  Pine  Ridge  as  the  most  threatened 
point.  On  November  i8th  four  companies  of  in 
fantry  were  started  from  Omaha  for  Pine  Ridge, 
and  troops  were  also  ordered  thither  from  Fort  Mc- 
Kinney,  Fort  Robinson,  and  Fort  Niobrara.  Gen. 
Miles  now  spoke  out  plainly  and  admitted  that  the 
Indians  had  got  beyond  control  of  the  agents. 
"  Discontent,"  he  said,  "  has  been  growing  among 
them  for  six  months.  The  causes  are  numerous. 
First  was  the  total  failure  of  their  crops  this  year. 
A  good  many  of  them  put  in  crops  and  worked  in 
dustriously,  and  were  greatly  discouraged  when 
they  failed,  as  they  did  utterly  in  some  districts. 
Then  the  Government  cut  down  their  rations,  and 
the  Appropriation  Bill  was  passed  so  late  that  what 
supplies  they  received  came  unusually  late.  A  good 
many  of  them  have  been  on  the  verge  of  starvation. 
They  have  seen  the  whites  suffering,  too,  and  in 
many  cases  abandoning  their  farms." 

The  alarm  at  Mandan  began,  after  a  few  days,  to 
subside.  Army  officers  laughed  it  out  of  existence. 
One  of  them  said  that  the  place  was  no  more  in 
danger  than  was  St.  Paul.  "  The  Indians  located 
nearest  to  Mandan  are  about  thirty-five  miles  away 
on  the  Cannon  Ball  River.  They  are  thrifty,  indus 
trious,  peaceable  people  who  have  taken  up  claims 
built  huts  and  houses,  own  cattle,  ponies,  and 
wagons,  and  are  in  good  circumstances.  They  are 
Christianized  Indians,  having  no  faith  in  aborigina 
superstitions  and  disliking  this  new  Messiah  craze 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR.  389 

for  they  say  that  it  interferes  with  the  progress  of 
the  people.  I  found  that  there  was  nothing  having 
the  appearance  of  war  or  indicative  of  war  in  this 
Messianic  belief.  The  Indians  say  that  the  whites 
are  to  be  destroyed,  but  by  the  Christ  alone  and 
without  aid  from  the  red  men/'  At  Yankton,  also, 
people  kept  their  confidence.  At  Pierre  there  was 
no  panic.  At  Jamestown  some  anxiety  was  felt. 

But  troops  continued  to  press  on  to  Pine  Ridge, 
sure  that  there  the  trouble  would  be  most  serious. 
On  November  igth  there  were  rumors  of  fighting, 
which  were  not,  however,  confirmed.  Rushville  was 
thronged  with  refugees  from  Pine  Ridge,  both  whites 
and  Indians.  Gen.  Brooke  left  Omaha  for  the 
Pine  Ridge  agency.  Gen.  Miles  hoped  to  be 
able  to  cope  with  the  hostile  Indians.  "  The  dis- 

LOCATION  AND  NUMBER  OF  HOSTILES. 

affected  camps,  scattered  over  several  hundred  miles 
of  territory,"  he  said,  "  aggregate  in  round  numbers 
6,000  warriors.  The  troops  scattered  over  this 
extensive  territory  number  about  6,000,  and  not 
more  than  1,500  of  this  number  are  effective 
mounted  troops," 

From  Pine  Ridge  came  this  message  on  Novem 
ber  2Oth :  "  The  dancing  Indians  have  the  agency 
and  the  surrounding  country  in  a  state  of  terror. 
The  ghost  dances  under  the  lead  of  Little  Wound, 
Six  Feathers,  and  other  chiefs  are  still  goinq-  on  at 
Wounded  Knee  Creek,  White  Clay,  and  Medicine 
Root  There  are  600  of  the  painted  redskins 


390  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

dancing  this  afternoon  at  White  Clay,  ten  miles  out 
from  the  agency,  and  they  have  their  guns  strapped 
to  their  backs  as  they  dance. 

"This  morning  a  large  band  of  Indians  left  Rose 
bud  Agency  and  headed  this  way.  It  is  within  the 
bounds  of  possibility  that  the  dancing  Indians  may 
consolidate  their  forces  at  Wounded  Knee,  and  in 
that  case  a  fight  may  be  expected  at  any  moment. 
Medicine  Root,  the  furthest  point  from  the  agency 
where  the  dancing  is  going  on,  is  thirty  miles  away, 
Wounded  Knee  is  fifteen,  and  Porcupine  twenty- 
five. 

"  Gen.  Brooke,  who  is  in  command  of  the  troops 
which  arrived  this  morning,  held  a  long  consultation 
during  the  forenoon  with  Indian  Agent  Royer  and 
Special  Indian  Agent  Cooper.  It  is  probable  that 
with  the  force  at  hand  no  attempt  will  be  made  to 
stop  the  dancing  at  present.  Both  the  Indian 
agents  said  at  the  conclusion  of  the  interview  that 
the  situation  was  certainly  grave.  They  confirmed 
the  reports  of  armed  Indians  dancing  at  different 
points,  and  said  that  parties  of  them,  were  probably 
moving  about  the  reservation.  Several  days  will  be 
passed  by  the  troops  and  agents  in  making  a  study 
of  all  the  phases  of  the  excitement,  but  until  troops 
are  here  in  greater  force  the  reds  will  not  be  mo 
lested. 

"The  Indians  at  all  the  four  points  mentioned  are 
dancing  and  telling  stories  of  having  seen  and  talked 
with  the  Messiah. 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  391 

"  The  wives  and  children  of  all  the  traders  and 
other  whites  about  the  agency  have  left  for  the  safer 
points  along  the  railroad,  and  the  men  here  are 
prepared  for  the  worst. 

"  Three  companies  of  the  Ninth  Cavalry  (colored) 
from  Fort  Robinson  and  five  companies  of  infantry 
from  Omaha  marched  in  this  morning  and  camped. 
Special  Indian  Agent  Cooper,  who  has  been  among 
the  Cheyennes  pacifying  them,  came  in  yesterday 
and  is  working  in  co-operation  with  Agent  Royer. 
The  troops  are  under  command  of  Gen.  Brooke, 
who  arrived  with  them  this  morning.  Several  more 
companies  are  expected  to-night  or  to-morrow  from 
Fort  Niobrara,  Fort  Meade,  and  Fort  McKinney. 
With  their  help  it  is  thought  that  the  Indians  can  be 
held  in  check  and  controlled.  They  have  been 
beyond  all  restraint  for  some  time  since.  The  ghost 
dance  craze  has  driven  No  Water,  Little  Wound, 
and  Six  Feathers  so  far  that  they  have  openly  defied 
the  agent  and  the  Indian  police. 

A  PANIC  AND  ALMOST  A  MASSACRK. 

"When  the  Indians  came  in  last  week  (Wednes 
day)  to  draw  their  rations  of  beef  the  agency  people 
were  thoroughly  alarmed.  The  authority  of  the 
Indian  police  was  entirely  ignored.  Little  Wound 
used  so  many  threats  and  gre^  so  troublesome  that 
Thunder  Bear  and  one  or  two  of  the  police  took 
him  in  charge  and  started  with  him  for  the  guard 
house.  An  uprising  of  the  ghost-dancing  Indians 
was  narrowly  avoided.  Knives  were  drawn  and  the 


392  LIFE    OF  SITTING   BULL 

disaffected  reds  began  to  call  to  each  other  to  set 
fire  :o  the  building,  as  the  whites  were  in  their  power. 
Little  Wound  was  surrounded  and  rescued  by  his 
friends. 

"  Within  the  last  fwo  weeks  the  agent  and  a  posse 
of  police  were  compelled  to  leave  the  vicinity  of  the 
ghost  dance  at  the  point  of  a  lot  of  Winchester 
rifles  in  the  hands  of  No  Water  and  Little  Wound's 
men.  What  effect  the  arrival  of  the  soldiers  will 
have  on  the  Indians  cannot  be  told.  When  the 
news  that  they  were  coming  reached  the  agency 
some  one  informed  the  boys  and  girls  in  ihe  Indian 
school,  and  almost  created  a  stampede.  The  Indian 
children  are  afraid  of  troops,  and  it  was  only  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  that  many  of  them  could  be 
prevented  from  leaving  the  building  and  bolting  to 
the  various  camps  of  their  friends  and  relatives." 

Rumors  went  out  that  the  Two  Kettle  Sioux  were 
joining  the  hostiles,  and  Capt.  Norville  hurried  to 
their  settlement  on  Bad  River  to  see  about  it. 
They  positively  denied  to  him  that  they  were  dis 
loyal.  Crow  Eagle  and  Hump  Rib,  the  two  head 
men  of  the  band,  told  the  Captain  that  emissaries 
had  visited  them  from  the  Cherry  Creek  Indians, 
and  one  evening,  while  they  were  having  a  pleasant 
little  dance,  one  of  6ig  Foot's  men  came  and  ad 
dressed  them  and  told  them  about  the  new  Christ, 
and  how  he  was  going  to  lead  the  Indians  to  happi 
ness  and  destroy  the  whites.  He  said  they  knew 
this  was  going  to  happen,  and  urged  them  to  come 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  393 

over  to  the  Cheyenne  River  and  join  with  them  in 
their  ghost  dances,  but  they  told  him  they  would 
not  not  go,  and  neitner  had  they  been  there.  They 
told  the  Captain  tney  wished  he  would  have  it  said 
in  the  Pierre  papers  tiiat  they  were  not  going  to 
join  the  new  Messiah  craze.  Further,  they  stated 
tnat  within  the  past  few  days  several  of  the  hostiles 
had  appeared  among  them,  making  threats  that  if 
tney  did  not  join  them  enough  force  would  be  sent 
against  them  to  at  once  massacre  the  Two  Kettle 
tribe  without  warning.  These  Indians  stood  in 
great  fear  of  the  hostiles,  and  said  they  were  going 
into  hiding  immediately,  until  the  Great  Father  sent 
his  soldiers  to  protect  them.  The  Captain  also 
learned  that  White  Buffalo,  a  son  of  Sitting  Bull, 
who  was  with  the  Two  Kettle  band,  had  recently 
had  his  star  taken  from  him  because  he  would  not 
make  the  arrest  of  an  Indian  Messiah  agent,  who 
was  an  old  bosom  friend  of  his.  He  sent  word  to 
his  father,  stating  that  he  was  under  arrest  because 
he  was  a  son  of  Sitting  Bull. 

A   COAL   MINE   AS  A  FORT. 

A  curious  feature  at  this  stage  of  the  troubles 
was  reported  from  Mandan.  The  people  of  that 
place  were  so  fearful  of  attack  that  they  fitted  up  a 
big  coal  mine  as  a  place  of  retreat.  They  stocked 
it  with  provisions  and  ammunition,  and  for  many- 
days  were  ready  to  flee  into  its  impregnable  re 
cesses  at  the  first  onset  of  the  dreaded  Sioux 

Late  in  the  evening  of  November  23$,  the  Pine 


394  L1FE    OF  BITTING  BULL 

Ridge  Agency  had  a  taste  of  an  Indian  scare.  \V  mle 
a  party  of  gentlemen  were  talking  with  A^ent 
Royer,  in  front  of  his  house,  they  were  startled  by 
a  weird,  unearthly  howl  from  away  across  the  creek, 
where  Jack  Red  Cloud's  men  were  encamped.  It 
was  a  loud,  piercing  cry  that  sounded  like  the  last 
long  howl  of  a  drunken  cowboy.  Then  it  was 
taken  up  and  answered  from  two  or  three  points 
along  the  hills  to  the  north.  That  was  enough. 
The  Indian  police  asleep  in  the  office  were  routed 
out  in  breathless  haste.  Hatless  and  bootless  they 
darted  out  and  hurried  off  into  the  hollow  of  the 
creek  in  the  direction  of  the  yelling.  Every  white 
man  in  the  agency  who  was  awake  heard  the  yells 
with  a  shiver/  Others  who  were  not  awake  were 
routed  from  their  beds  and,  loading  themselves 
with  pistols  and  shot-guns,  hurried  toward  the  agency 
buildings. 

The  yelling  was  echoed  back  and  forth  through 
the  Indian  camp  for  five  or  ten  minutes,  then 
stopped  as  suddenly  as  it  began.  In  a  few  minutes 
the  police  came  in  with  a  Sioux  in  white  man's 
clothes,  but  whether  he  had  been  doing  the  howling 
could  not  be  determined.  The  scare  plainly  showed 
the  intense  strain  upon  the  people  there.  It  was 
only  a  little  scare,  but  it  plainly  showed  that  the 
slightest  possible  row  or  shooting  scrape  of  any 
kind  might  lead  to  a  fight. 

SAW  THE  MESSIAH. 

At   Standing   Rock   Agency,    Mr.    Stewart,    the 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR.  395 

agency  saddler,  while  out  buggy  riding  visited  the 
Indian  camp,  four  miles  from  town,  and  saw  the  In 
dians  perform  the,  Messiah  dance.  The  Indians 
were  all  nearly  naked  and  painted  hideously.  They 
gathered  around  Stewart,  who  was  badly  frightened 
at  their  threats.  One  Indian  pointed  toward  the 
blazing  sun,  shaking  Stewart  with  the  other  hand 
and  saying :  "  See  !  See  !  There  he  is  now.  The 
Indian  Messiah  is  coming  now.  See  !  See  !"  Stew 
art  was  compelled  to  look  at  the  sun,  and  when  he 
acknowledged  he  saw  the  Messiah  the  Indians 
seemed  greatly  pleased.  Stewart  was  then  released, 
and  returned  to  the  agency  as  fast  as  his  horses 
would  brinof  him. 

o 

Two  Indian  scouts  were  sent  from  Fort  Yates  to 
Sitting  Bull's  camp  to  see  the  state  of  affairs  in  that 
direction.  Being  known  to  Bull  as  military  scouts, 
they  were  at  once  suspected  as  spies  and  were 
treated  harshly  by  Bull  and  others,  Bull  asked 
them  their  business  out  there.  They  said  they  were 
after  two  deserters  from  the  post,  which,  of  course, 
Bull  knew  to  be  untrue.  Bull  told  them  he  under 
stood  there  were  2,000  soldiers  coming  to  take  him 
and  his  property.  "But,"  said  he,  "I  have  runners 
coming  and  going  every  day,  and  know  everything 
that  is  going  on  there,  and  as  soon  as  these  soldiers 
come  I  will  take  my  family  and  ponies  and  those 
that  will  follow  me  and  leave  here,  and  they  will  not 
get  me.' 

Continuing,  he  said  to  the  scouts : 


396  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

"  You  see  we  have  abandoned  the  white  men's 
houses  and  are  living  in  our  native  tepees,  and  will 
not  return  to  the  houses  nor  to  the  agency." 

The  supposition  was  that  if  Bull  heard  of  any 
serious  trouble  at  the  lower  agency,  or  if  the  mili 
tary  attempted  to  take  him,  he  would  at  once  break 
camp  on  the  Grand  River  and  join  the  hostiles  at 
the  lower  agencies,  thereby  declaring  war  against 
the  Government.  BulPs  son-in-law,  when  ques 
tioned  as  to  whether  or  not  Bull  was  coming  in, 
said :  M  No ;  he  is  never  coming  until  the  military 
overpower  him  and  make  him/' 

The  view  taken  of  the  situation  at  this  time  by 
Governor  Mellette,  of  South  Dakota,  may  be  seen 
from  the  following  letter  which  he  sent  on  Novem 
ber  26th  to  Gen.  Miles : 

"  Scotty  Phillips,  who  has  a  thousand  head  of  cattle 
arid  lives  at  the  mouth  of  the  Grand  Stone  Butte 
Creek,  eighty  miles  up  Bad  River,  with  an  Indian 
family,  and  Waldron,  the  cattleman,  seven  miles  this 
side  of  Phillips,  left  their  places  at  2  p.  M.  yesterday 
to  bring  me  intelligence.  Phillips  is  a  very  cool, 
courageous  man,  was  a  good  scout  through  the 
Sioux  trouble  of  1875—76,  and  Cheyenne  troubles 
of  1879.  He  is  a  reliable  man  of  nerve,  good 
judgment,  and  good  character.  He  reports  that  he 
was  never  afraid  of  Indians  before,  and  thinks  there 
will  be  an  uprising  very  soon,  and  bases  his  belief 
as  follows:  Eight  days  ago  five  lodges,  containing 
twelve  bucks,  armed  with  Winchesters  and  laden 


YOUNG-MAN-AFRAID-OF-HIS-HORSES. 


AND   THE  IXDIAX  ll'.-l R.  399 

with  ammunition,  camped  at  his  house  going  from 
Rosebud  to  a  large  camp  which  is  formed  on  White 
River,  at  the  mouth  of  Pass  Creek.  He  talked 
with  them  an  hour.  They  were  surly  and  defiant 
in  manner ;  one  said  he  had  seen  the  time  when  he 
used  to  beat  out  the  brains  of  children  and  drink 
women's  blood,  and  that  the  time  was  coming  when 
they  would  do  it  again.  He  said  Phillips  was  raising 
horses  for  Indians  to  ride ;  that  the  country  was 
just  as  good  now  as  in  buffalo  time,  as  there  were 
plenty  of  cattle  in  it.  Phillips  knew  these  Indians 
well,  Yellow  Thigh  being  their  leader. 

"White  Field,  a  settler  at  Mouth  Pass  Creek  on 
White  River,  had  his  house  broken  open  by  the 
Indians  and  all  his  horses  and  goods  stolen  about 
ten  days  ago.  Phillips  in  the  last  few  days  has  had 
twenty  cattle  killed  by  the  Indians  and  Waldron 
seven  that  they  know  of.  Three  half-breeds  from 
White  River  stopped  at  Phillips'  house  night  before 
last  and  said  they  expected  to  find  the  settlements 
destroyed  when  they  got  home.  The  threats  are 
against  the  half-breeds  and  all  Indians  who  won't 
join  the  ghost  dance.  Phillips  says  everybody  who 
has  been  among  the  Indians  any  length  of  time, 
without  exception,  says  that  there  is  going  to  be  an 
uprising,  and  that  very  quick.  The  Pass  Creek  dance 
has  been  running  for  a  month.  Phillips  and 
Waldron  say  it  is  Short  Bull's  headquarters,  and 
they  think  it  is  a  point  fixed  for  concentration  for  all 
the  bands.  They  think  there  are  now  1,000  lodges 


4OO  LIFE    OF  SITTING   BULL 

and  1,500  warriors  there.  Indians  claim  they  wonvt 
give  up  Short  Bull  and  will  fight  when  the  soldiers 
try  to  arrest  them.  They  say  as  soon  as  the 
ft  >"ht  begins  a  hailstorm  will  kill  the  white  soldiers. 

"5  O 

The  Indians  say  they  have  shirts  that  are  bullet 
proof. 

"  I  know  Phillips  well,  and  would  take  his  judg 
ment  on  the  situation  in  preference  to  anybody  I 
know.  If  you  deem  this  information  of  any  impor 
tance  I  can  send  a  messenger  to  further  investigate. 
I  urgently  request,  however,  that  you  establish  a 
post  at  Chamberlain  and  at  Forest  City.  Both 
points  are  reached  by  rail.  I  have  requested  the 
Secretary  of  War,  and  again  make  the  application 
through  you,  for  1,000  guns  and  ammunition  to  be 
shipped  to  me  at  Huron." 


CHAPTER  XXX.- 

FROM  BAD  TO  WORSE. 

AN  OMINOUS  THANKSGIVING — SCENES  AT  AN  ISSUING  OF  BEEF — "BUF 
FALO  BILL" — PLENTY  BEAR'S  REPORT — MEDICINE  THAT  WAS  NOT 
BULLET  PROOF — AN  ERA  OF  UNCERTAINTY  AND  LIES — Two  DEEDS 
DETERMINED  UPON. 

HUNTING  DOWN  GAME. 

Thanksgiving  Day  at  Pine  Ridge  was  celebrated 
by  an  issue  of  beef  to  about  2,600  of  the  Indians 
assembled  there.  It  was  little  more  than  the  abo 
riginal  idea  of  hunting  down  game  and  slaughtering 
it.  with  the  single  exception  that  the  game  came 
out  of  a  corral  and  was  furnished  by  the  Govern 
ment.  Ninety-three  scrawny  steers  had  been  gath 
ered  at  the  beef  corral  about  two  miles  out  in  an 
open  prairie  to  the  east  of  the  agency  building. 
About  the  little  office  and  gate  at  9  o'clock  there 
assembled  a  motley  crowd  of  interested  Indians  and 
half-breeds,  and  a  smaller  crowd  of  white  men  who 
came  to  see  the  sights.  About  one  in  every  three 
Indians  carried  a  rifle  of  some  kind. 

At  the  call  of  a  dilapidated  redskin,  who  holds 
the  exalted  position  of  royal  haranguer  for  the  Pine 

401 


402  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

Ridge  Agency,  they  fell  into  lines  stretching  away 
from  the  gate  of  the  cattle-pen.  The  Indians  were 
arranged  in  bands  of  thirty,  represented  by  the 
name  of  the  head  man  on  the  books  of  the  agency 
clerks.  One  clerk  called  this  head  man's  name,  the 
haranguer  shouted  it  out  to  the  crowd,  and  a  weaz 
ened  steer  was*allowed  to  pass  the  gate.  All  the 
men  who  belonged  to  that  particular  band  put  spurs, 
whip,  and  lariat  to  their  ponies  and  started  them 
out  upon  the  open  prairie.  They  were  all  lean 
enough  to  run  well,  and  for  an  hour  the  whole  plain 
was  covered  with  frightened  steers  and  yelling  In 
dians.  As  soon  as  the  steers  ran  out  of  the  pen 
they  demonstrated  that  they  were  as  fleet  as  the  In 
dian  ponies.  In  almost  every  instance  it  was  a  long 
chase.  Attempts  to  lasso  the  cattle  generally  failed, 
and  a  regular  fusilade  followed.  Several  Indians 
have  been  killed  heretofore  by  this  firing,  yet  the 
only  rule  is  that  no  shooting  must  be  done  within 
half  a  mile  of  the  corral.  Once  outside  tl  at  limit 
the  steers  were  shot  down  as  soon  as  the  ponies 
placed  their  riders  in  a  position  to  get  in  a  shot. 

The  danger  to  the  Indians  and  the  picturesque- 
ness  of  the  scene  were  enhanced  by  the  squaws  and 
wagoners.  When  the  first  steer  dropped  a  portion 
of  these  people  who  had  collected  back  of  the  horse 
men  near  the  pen  started  for  the  carcass.  Another 
party  bolted  out  upon  the  prairie  at  the  fall  of  every 
succeding  animal.  They  were  soon  in  the  midst  of 
the  melee,  and  the  maddened  steers  and  excited 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  403 

horses  ran  about  among  the  little  knots  of  hungry 
women  and  children  who  had  gathered  to  the 
bloody  feast,  too  anxious  for  the  tidbits  to  await  the 
close  of  the  hunt.  When  the  last  steer  was  down 
the  first  and  many  others  were  upon  their  way  to 
ward  the  Indians'  stomachs. 

AN  INDIAN  FEAST. 

Men  and  women  fell  upon  the  jerking  and  quiv- 
erine  bodies  of  the  overheated  animals,  and  before 

o 

the  hide  was  half  off  the  eating  had  begun.  There 
was  no  cooking.  As  quick  as  the  knife  exposed 
the  liver  and  the  choice  portions  of  the  entrailss 
which  are  dear  to  the  Sioux  epicure,  they  were  cut 
out,  and  the  butchers  and  their  waiting  children  be 
gan  the  feast.  A  drive  across  the  prairie  was  enough 
to  send  a  qualm  through  the  stomach  of  the  tough 
est  white  man  who  saw  the  feast  for  the  first  time. 
The  eating  of  the  "fifth  quarter,"  as  the  Indians  call 
the  viscera,  and  the  use  of  the  hide  of  the  animal  to 
prevent  the  meat  from  getting  into  the  prairie  sand, 
were  too  disgusting  to  permit  of  a  calm  observation. 
Each  one  of  these  scrawny  animals  was  portioned 
off  for  the  heads  of  families  who  made  up  the  band 
of  thirty  In  linns  t^>  whom  one  steer  was  allotted  to 
last  them  for  two  weeks.  Even  when  it  it  is  con 
sidered  that  little  more  than  the  bare  horns,  hide, 
and  hoofs  escape  the  Indian's  stomach,  the  supply 
was  scant,  indeed.  The  show  was,  for  a  few  mo 
ments,  wild  and  exciting,  and  then  it  changed  to  a 
most  disgusting  spectacle. 


404  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

Tht  only  reason  given  for  not  slaughtering  the 
steers  decently  and  serving  the  meat  from  the  block 
is  that  the  Indians  want  the  hides.  One  of  them  is 
worth  at  the  traders'  store  about  $2  or  $2.50.  All 
the  rest  of  the  animal  that  the  Indian  eats  could  be 
given  to  him  decently  and  in  order.  Serving  the 
meat  from  the  block  was  tried  once.  There  was  no 
appropriation  to  pay  for  butchering.  The  hides 
were  used  for  that  purpose,  and  then  a  howl  went 
up.  Instead  of  paying  the  butcher,  the  Department 
of  Indian  Affairs  ruled  that  the  hides  belonged  to 
the  red  man,  and  the  old  system  was  resumed. 

At  the  same  time  four  cannons  were  planted  in  a 
commanding  position,  and  1,200  soldiers  were  en 
camped  close  by  the  agency.  The  agent  declared 
that  4,000  hostile  Indians  from  the  Rosebud  Agency 
were  approaching. 

BUFFALO  BILL. 

On  November  2;th  Col.  Cody,  "Buffalo  Bill," 
arrived  at  Bismarck  from  New  York,  accompanied 
by  his  old  partner,  Frank  Powell,  known  as  "  White 
Beaver,"  and  R.  H.  Haslan,  known  as  "  Pony  Bob," 
who  once  rode  108  miles  in  eight  hours  and  ten 
minutes.  Special  conveyances  weie  engaged  to 
take  the  party  to  Standing  Rock  Agency.  Buffalo 
Bill  had  a  commission  from  Gen.  Miles  to  go  direct 
to  Sitting  Bull's  camp  on  Grand  River  to  get  at  the 
bottom  of  the  Messiah  craze,  with  almost  unlimited 
authority  to  act.  This  was  Buffalo  Bill's  first  visit 
to  that  section  since  the  Custer  massacre. 


AND    THE   INDIAN  WAR.  405 

And  now  matters  hastened  toward  a  crisis.  The 
Rosebud  Indians,  under  Chief  Two  Strike,  united 
with  Short  Bull's  band,  also  from  Rosebud,  and 
made  all  preparations  for  war.  They  made  t4  medi 
cine  "  to  render  themselves  bullet-proof,  and  put  on 
their  war-paint.  Chief  Little  Wound  went  to  the 
agency  and  reported  that  his  endeavors  to  pacify 
and  restrain  his  followers  had  been  unavailing. 

o 

Plenty  Bear,  an  old-time  friendly  Indian  who  lived 
at  Wounded  Knee,  twenty-five  miles  northeast,  came 
in  with  an  alarming  report  to  Agent  Royer.  He 
stated  there  were  364  lodges,  being  over  2,000  In 
dians,  at  Wounded  Knee,  and  they  had  resumed  the 
ghost  dance  with  many  war-like  accompaniments. 
He  said  they  were  formed  in  the  regular  war  dance 
proper,  and  were  swearing  vengeance  upon  the 
whites  for  conspiring  to  stop  the  dances.  They  had 
taken  an  oath  to  resist  interference  if  it  cost  the  last 
drop  of  their  hearts'  blood.  Plenty  Bear  witnessed 
the  dance  in  person. 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  WAR. 

The  agency  people  were  informed  that  Short  Bull, 
one  of  the  leading  ghost  dancers  of  the  Rosebud 
Agency,  had  been  in  the  camp  about  the  agency 
attempting  to  induce  the  Pine  Ridge  Indians  to  join 
the  Rosebud  forces  on  Porcupine  and  Medicine 
Root  Creeks.  Early  one  morning  about  fifty  of  the 
Indian  police  began  a  search  of  the  camp.  It  was 
not  a  fruitless  errand.  While  Short  Bull  was  not 
found,  the  policemen  discovered  that  Good  Thunder 


406  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL  r 

and  one  or  two  other  ghost  dancers  had  left  the  camp 
some  time  at  night  with  Short  Bull. 

At  a  war  dance  at  Pine  Ridge  the  bullet-proof 
"  medicine  "  was  used,  and  Chief  Porcupine  was  se 
lected  as  the  man  upon  whom  its  efficacy  should  be 
tried.  He  was  placed  m  tne  centre  ui  a  ring  and 
the  Indians  opened  on  him.  At  the  first  discharge 
he  was  shot  through  the  thigh.  The  Indians  at  fir~t 
declared  he  was  not  injured,  and  would  not  permit 
the  onlookers  to  give  him  any  assistance.  He  was 
put  in  a  tepee,  and  finally  they  declared  he  would 
be  all  right  in  a  little  while. 

i  tie  uncertainty  mat  prevailed1  was  thus  described 
by  the  correspondent  of  the  Chicago  Tribune,  writ 
ing  from  the  Pine  Ridge  Agency  on  November 
30th: 

u  Gen.  Brooke  and  his  1,200  soldiers  are  watch 
ing  the  agency  and  the  few  friendly  Indians. 
Three  or  four  thousand  Rosebud  Indians  are  run 
ning  things  on  the  northern  end  of  the  reservation, 
and  nothing  is  being  done.  It  is  iikeiv  that  some- 
minp-  would  be  done  IT  Gen.  ttrooKe  was  nor  com 
pelled  to  await  the  orders  of  the  Indian  fignters  at 
Washington.  He  could  at  least  round  up  tne  wan 
dering  Rosebuds  and  stop  their  depredations  upon 
the  property  of  the  Indians  who  are  here. 

"White  liars,  red  liars,  and  all  the  intermediate 
tinges  are  busily  at  work.  Stories  of  the  most 
alarming  character  are  told  about  once  an  hour  and 
contradicted  in  less  time.  First,  the  rumor  comes 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  407 

that  the  Rosebuds  are  painting  themselves,  dancing, 
and  preparing  for  a  fight  Then  the  other  side  has 
a  story  ready.  The  Indians  are  only  ajarmed  at  the 
presence  of  the  troops.  They  do  not  credit  any 
messages  sent  them  by  the  Indian  police,  and  would 
be  ready  and  willing  to  come  into  the  agency  at 
once  if  some  person  in  whom  they  have  confidence 
would  go  out  and  tell  them  so.  For  the  last  four 
days  Special  Agent  Cooper  and  Mr.  Royer  have 
declared  that  they  had  sent  them  instructions  to 
come  in  They  have  not  done  so,  and  the  agents 
say  they  have  had  no  communication  with  either 
Two  Strike  or  Crow  Dog,  the  leaders  of  the  band. 
Royer  and  Cooper  had  a  long  talk  this  morning 
with  Red  Cloud,  Big  Road,  and  one  or  two  of  the 
minor  chiefs  there.  They  were  instructed  to  send 
for  the  Rosebud  Indians,  and  it  remains  to  be  seen 
whether  that  move  will  have  any  effect. 

THE  ROSEBUDS. 

"The  reports  made  of  the  movements  of  the 
Rosebuds  are  of  the  most  conflicting  character.  It 
appears  certain,  however,  that  the  whole  outfit  moved 
about  ten  miles  further  away  from  the  agency,  going 
north  along  Wounded  Knee  Creek  to  its  junction 
with  White  River.  Rocky  Bear,  the  chief  of  Buffalo 
Bill's  band  of  show  Indians,  returned  last  night  from 
a  trip  to  the  Rosebud  camp.  He  said  that  he  could 
see  nothing  warlike  in  their  movements.  They  were 
badly  frightened  about  the  soldiers  and  suspicious 
of  all  movements  about  Pine  Ridge  Agency.  So 


408  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

far  as  he  could  learn  with  a  talk  with  Two  Strike 
and  Crow  Dog,  they  could  be  readily  persuaded  to 
come  here  it  they  could  »be  convinced  that  Agent 
Royer  wanted  them  here  and  wanted  to  talk  to  them. 
He  did  not  see  any  of  the  work  of  the  thieves 
during  his  trip,  as  he  only  went  to  his  own  house  on 
Wounded  Knee  Creek.  Rocky  Bear  explained  that 
he  did  not  care  to  go  near  any  other  house  for  fear 
that  if  they  had  been  broken  open  he  would  be  ac 
cused  of  the  robbery.  So  far  as  his  own  property 
was  concerned,  it  was  safe  and  intact. 

"  The  opposite  of  this  report  comes  from  a  couple 
of  Indians  who  were  examined  by  Cooper  late  last 
night.  One  of  them  said  that  he  came  over  from 
Rosebud  because  he  had  married  a  Sioux,  and  his 
wife  was  determined  to  come  to  this  agency.  Ac 
cording  to  his  story,  the  Rosebuds  were  getting 
ready  for  a  fight.  Their  horses  were  painted  and 
their  camp  was  constantly  picketed  and  guarded  by 
their  young  warriors,  who  had  been  selected  for 
that  duty.  The  squaws  and  young  bucks  were 
talking  of  war,  and  medicine  to  render  the  braves 
bullet-proof  was  being  prepared.  These  two  agreed 
with  Rocky  Bear  in  only  one  particular,  which  was 
that  a  council  of  the  Rosebuds  was  to  be  held  either 
last  night  or  to-night,  at  which  their  course  of  con- 
duct  was  to  be  decided  upon. 

"  Another  rumor  that  startled  a  good  many  people 
was  that  a  large  force  of  Sioux  had  left  the  Chey 
enne  River  Agency  and  moved  south  and  east, 


AND   THE   INDIAN   WAR.  409 

as  if  to  join  the  Rosebud  or  the  Pine  Ridge  malcon 
tents. 

"  Late  last  evening  the  crowd  about  Agent  Royer's 
office  was  thrown  into  a  fever  of  nervous  excitement 
by  the  appearance  of  an  Indian  leading  a  w'hite  sore- 
backed  pony.  He  had  streaks  of  red  upon  his 
flanks  and  quarters,  and  an  attempt  had  been  made 
to  wash  them  out.  Half-breeds  and  Indian  police 
men  declared  that  this  pony  had  been  painted  for 
the  war-path,  and  that  he  came  from  the  Rosebud 
camp,  but  who  brought  him  and  under  what  circum 
stances  could  not  be  learned.  This  is  a  fair  sample 
of  the  information  that  reaches  the  agency  from  the 
camp  of  the  hostiles.  Should  the  Rosebuds  refuse 
to  come  in  and  the  troops  attempt  to  call  them  to  an 
account  a  stampede  or  fight  might  be  expected.  As 
it  is  they  are  wandering  about  the  northern  part  of 
the  reservation  at  their  own  sweet  will,  and  as  long 
as  the  soldiers  and  Indians  are  as  far  apart  as  they 
are  now  the  warfare  will  be  confined  to  an  exchange 
of  lies  " 

TWO  DECISIVE  PROJECTS. 

About  this  time  talk  began  seriously  to  settle 
upon  two  projects :  To  arrest  Sitting  Bull,  and  to 
disarm  the  Indians.  These  acts  were,  indeed,  soon 
decided  upon  and  executed ;  but  with  tragic  and 
disastrous  results. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

DELAY  AND  DISASTER, 

WAITING  FOR  SOMETHING  TO  TURN  UP— INCREASED  RATIONS  COME  Too 
LATE — DEPREDATIONS  BY  THE  HOSTILES — A  FRUITLESS  Pow-wow  AT 
PINE  RIDGE — THE  INDIANS  FIGHTING  AMCNG  THEMSELVES — TROOPS 
HURRYING  ON  TO  THE  BAD  LANDS. 

Before  the  two  decisive  moves  were  made,  how 
ever,  there  was  a  fortnight  more  of  delay,  "  waiting 
for  something  to  turn  up."  The  authorities  were 
naturally  reluctant  to  begin  a  struggle  which  was 
certain  to  be  serious.  At  the  same  time  they  neglec 
ted 'to  take  any  of  those  steps  for  the  amelioration 
of  the  condition  of  the  Indians,  which  justice  and 
humanity  required,  and  which  alone  could  have 
brought  about  a  peaceful  solution  of  the  difficulty. 
They  simply  waited,  hoping  that  very  severe  weath 
er  would  set  in  and  stop  the  ghost-dancing,  and 
starve  and  freeze  the  Indians  into  unconditional 
submission. 

UGLY  PREPARATIONS. 

The  statesmanship  of  this  policy  was  not  appreci 
ated  by  the  Indians'  who  kept  on  with  their  war-like 
preparations.     On  December  ist,  Judge   Burns,  of 
Deadwood,  came  in  to  the  Pine  Ridge  Agency,  hav- 
410 


AND   THE  INDIAN  IV A R.  411 

ing  passed  through  the  hostile  camp.  There  was, 
he  said,  no  doubt  that  the  red  workers  for  war  were 
preparing  thoroughly  for  a  great  struggle,  and  that 
they  had  no  thought  of  giving  up  their  purpose.  A 
member  of  the  camp  proclaimed  his  approach  when 
he  was  a  long  way  off,  so  that  when  he  neared  the 
camp  he  found  it  bristling  with  preparation  for  an 
attack.  The  hostile  band  was  made  up  almost  ex 
clusively  of  young  men,  who  had  disregarded  the 
advice  of  their  old  chiefs,  taken  the  reins  into  their 
own  hands,  and  vowed  to  fight  until  death.  The 
ghost  dance,  Judge  Burns  said  further,  was  being 
done  all  night  long,  and  was  varied  during  the  day 
with  the  old-time  war  dance.  He  corroborated  fully 
the  previous  reports  as  to  the  abundance  of  food 
and  ammunition  which  they  had,  and  said,  they  were 
making  up  a  big  supply  of  a  new  pattern  of  toma 
hawk,  more  ugly  than  the  old  style. 

INCREASE  OF   RATIONS. 

Little  Wound  made  another  desperate  effort  for 
peace,  and  narrowly  escaped  being  killed  by  his  own 
tribesmen  for  his  pains. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  now  ordered  an  in 
crease  of  rations,  in  the  hope  that  such  action  would 
pacify  the  Indians,  but  it  was  too  late.  When  the 
Indians  were  informed  of  it,  they  thought  they  were 
being  tricked  again,  and  they  only  hurried  their  pre 
parations  to  flee  to  the  Bad  Lands,  and  there  sell 
their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible.  General  Miles,  in 
the  meantime,  sent  troops  forward  as  speedily  as 


412  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

possible,  until  he  had  2,000  mounted  men  and  a 
large  force  of  infantry  within  reach ;  enough,  he 
thought,  to  deal  with  the  4,000  Indians  who  were  on 
the  war  path.  The  hostile  Indians  were  massing 
their  forces  between  Pine  Ridge  and  the  Bad  Lands, 
and  General  Miles  was  trying  to  encircle  them  with 
a  cordon  of  troops.  On  December  5th  a  report 
stated:  " The  situation  has  not  materially  changed. 
The  hostile  Rosebud  Indians  sleep  upon  their  arms, 
prepared  constantly  for  an  attack.  They  have  three 
lines  of  signal  couriers  between  the  agency  and  their 
camp,  and  any  movements  of  the  troops  would  be 
known  in  a  few  moments.  They  have  taken  all 
they  wish  of  the  Government  beef  herd  and  burned 
the  buildings  and  corrals.  They  are  living  high  and 
are  happy.  They  have  moved  to  the  edge  of  the 
Bad  Lands.  Military  preparations  proceed  rapidly. 
Unless  the  Indians  come  in  within  a  very  few  days 
the  troops  will  be  equipped  and  in  position,  when  an 
advance  may  be  ordered." 

DAILY  OUTRAGES, 

At  the  same  time,  depredations  and  outrages 
were  of  daily  occurrence.  On  December  5th,  Wil 
liam  McGaa  and  John  O'Rourke-,  farmers,  came  in 
from  the  White  Earth  River  country  with  a  tale  of 
woe.  These  men  were  half-breeds,  with  full-blooded 
Indian  wives,  as  are  nearly  all  the  settlers  in  the 
valley.  Both  had  come  to  the  agency  as  requested 
when  the  troops  arrived,  because  they  had  learned 
obedience,  leaving  their  farms  to  the  protection  of 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAP. 

the  Great  Father  and  the  tender  mercies  of  the  fanat 
ical  ghost  dancer.  Both  brave,  stalwart  men,  they 
stood  up  in  the  crowded,  dingy  little  room  that  serves 
as  an  office,  with  choked  voice  and  hardly  repressed 
tears,  and  told  the  sad  account  of  their  distress  and 
ruin.  William  McGaa  lived  on  White  River,  at  the 
mouth  of  Porcupine  Creek,  forty  miles  from  the 
agency.  He  found  his  home  a  wreck.  Twelve  work 
horses  had  been  stolen,  the  heavy  work  harness  cut 
into  pieces,  the  wagons  broken  to  pieces,  and  every 
useful  article  in  house  and  barn  demolished.  Win 
dows  had  been  broken  ;  pictures,  tables,  chairs,  cup 
boards  and  bedsteads  chopped  into  fragments ; 
trunks  broken  open,  and  his  wife's  and  children's 
clothes  torn  into  shreds  ;  the  sewing  machine  lay  in 
a  hundred  pieces  mingled  with  those  of  the  crock 
ery.  All  the  accumulated  annuity  goods  of  clothing, 
blankets,  cloth  of  various  kinds,  as  well  as  extra 
provisions,  had  been  stolen.  Mr.  McGaa  lost  also 
one  stallion  which  cost  him  $500,  and  225  head  of 
cattle.  John  O'Rourke's  ranch  was  at  the  mouth  of 
Wounded  Knee  Creek,  and  the  scene  at  his  home 
was  but  a  repetition  of  that  at  MeGaa's  even  to  the 
breaking  of  the  clock,  and  the  theft  of  the  well  rope. 
Here  they  were  not  content  with  mere  destruction, 
but  added  insult  to  injury  by  arranging  his  choicest 
set  of  dishes  in  the  centre  of  the  floor  and  leaving  them 
defiled  beyond  description.  Between  the  honses  of 
these  two  men  were  the  homes  of  many  friends. 
All  was  wreck  and  ruin.  Dick  Stirks  lost  a  work 


414  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

horse  and  a  lot  of  range  horses  and  cattle,  as  well 
as  ranch  and  home.  William  Valangry  was  home 
less,  losing  horses  and  cattle.  John  Steele  had  a 
handsome  house,  well  furnished  ;  it  was  gone,  and 
so  were  forty  head  of  cattle  known  to  be  slaughter 
ed,  and  over  100  head  of  horses.  Yellow  Bird  lost 
his  shelter  and  over  fifty  horses,  and  a  large  herd 
of  cattle.  Charley  Cooney  was  ruined,  without 
counting  seven  horses  and  twenty  cows  stolen.  Mrs. 
Cooney,  a  widow,  lost  everything.  At  her  home  the 
marauders  left  evidence  that  they  were  not  suffering 
for  even  the  luxuries  of  life,  for  coffee  and  sugar 
were  sprinkled  all  over  the  floors  and  around  the 
yard.  John  Davison,  one  of  the  boss  farmers  in  the 
employ  of  the  Government,  was  left  destitute,  losing 
everything.  Henry  Kerns  and  Mrs.  Fisher  were 
left  homeless,  penniless  and  suffering,  Baptiste 
Courier,  better  known  as  Big  Bat,  an  old-timer  even 
among  the  Indians,  lost  seventy-five  horses  and  thirty- 
eight  cows.  The  Government  ranch,  the  head-quarters 
of  John  Dwyer,  the  chief  herder  for  the  agency,  was 
burned  and  everything  destroyed.  The  leaders  of  the 
war  party  said  that  they  would  sweep  the  country. 

A  CONFERENCE  WITH  GENERAL  BROOKE. 

Through  the  efforts  of  Father  Jule,  the  Roman 
Catholic  priest  at  Pine  Ridge,  a  conference  was  held 
on  December  6th  between  General  Brooke  and  a 
number  of  the  chiefs.  The  Indians  came  in  to  the 
camp  bearing  a  flag  of  truce  and  armed  with  Win 
chester  and  Springfield  rifles.  The  entrance  of  the 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  417 

novel  procession  produced  much  excitement  at  the 
agency.  First  came  the  chiefs,  who  were  Turning 
Bear,  Big  Turkey,  High  Pine,  Big  Bad  Horse,  and 
Bull  Dog,  who  was  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Custer 
massacre.  Next  came  Two  Strike,  the  head  chief, 
seated  in  a  buggy  with  Father  Jule.  Surrounding 
these  was  a  body  guard  of  four  young  warriors.  All 
the  Indians  were  decorated  with  war-paint  and 
feathers,  while  many  wore  ghost-dance  leggings  and 
the  ghost-dance  shirt  dangling  at  their  saddles. 
Bunches  of  eagle  feathers  were  tied  in  the  manes 
and  tails  of  most  of  the  ponies,  while  the  backs  of 
the  docile  little  animals  were  streaked  with  paint, 

The  warlike  cavalry  proceeded  at  once  to  General 
Brooke's  spacious  headquarters  in  the  agency  resi 
dence.  At  a  given  signal  all  leaped  to  the  ground, 
hitched  their  ponies  to  the  trees,  and  guided  by 
Father  Jule  they  entered  the  General's  apartments, 
where  the  council  was  held,  lasting  two  hours. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  pow-wow  General 
Brooke  explained,  that  the  Great  Father,  through 
him,  had  asked  them  to  come  in  and  have  a  talk  re 
garding  the  situation.  A  great  deal  of  misunder 
standing  and  trouble  had  arisen  by  the  reports  taken 
to  and  fro  between  the  camps  by  irresponsible  par 
ties,  and  it  was,  therefore,  considered  very  necessa 
ry  that  they  have  a  talk  face  to  face.  Through  him 
he  said  the  Father  wanted  to  tell  them  if  they  would 
come  in  and  live  near  the  agency,  where  he,  General 
Brooke,  could  see  them  often,  and  so  not  be  com- 


41 8  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

pelled  to  depend  upon  hearsay,  that  he  would  give 
them  plenty  to  eat  and  would  employ  many  of  their 
young  men  as  scouts,  etc.  He  said  he  heard  they 
were  hostile  Indians,  but  he  did  not  believe  it.  The 
soldiers  did  not  come  there  to  fight,  but  to  protect 
the  settlers  and  keep  the  peace.  He  hoped  they 
(the  Indians)  were  all  in  favor  of  peace,  as  the  Great 
Father  did  not  want  war.  As  to  the  feeling  over  the 
change  in  the  boundary  line  between  the  Pine  Ridge 
and  Rosebud  Agency,  he  said  that  and  many  other 
things  would  be  settled  after  they  had  shown  a  dispo 
sition  to  come  in,  as  asked  by  the  Great  Father. 

CONTRACTED  BROWS  AND  LOW  GRUNTS. 

Wounded  Knee  was  suggested  as  a  place  that 
would  prove  satisfactory  to  the  Great  Father  to  have 
them  live.  The  representatives  of  the  hostiles  list 
ened  with  contracted  brows,  sidelong  glances  at  one 
another,  and  low  grunts. 

When  the  General  had  concluded  his  remarks, 
Turning  Bear  came  forward  and  spoke  in  reply.  He 
is  a  fine  specimen  of  the  blanket-wrapped  Indian. 
Turning  Bear  gave  expression  to  the  following 
ideas :  It  would  be  a  bad  thing  for  them  to  come 
rearer  the  agency  because  there  was  no  water  or 
grass  for  their  horses  here.  He  couldn't  understand 
how  the  young  men  could  be  employed  as  scouts 
if  there  was  no  enemy  to  be  watched.  They  might 
come  in,  but  as  the  old  men  and  old  women  had  no 
horses,  and  as  their  people  had  nothing  generally  to 
pull  their  wao-ons.  it  would  take  them  a  long  time  to 


LITE  OF  SITTING  BULL  419 

come.  If  they  did  come  they  should  want  the  Great 
Father  to  send  horses  and  wagons  out  to  the  Bad 
Lands  camp  and  bring  in  the  great  quantities  ol 
beef,  etc.,  they  had  there  and  take  it  anywhere  to  a 
new  camp  that  might  be  agreed  on. 

In  conclusion,  the  speakers  hoped  that  they  would 
be  given  something  to  eat  before  they  started  back. 

To  this  the  General  replied  that  he  intended  be 
fore  the  council  opened  that  before  its  close  he 
would  tell  them  that  they  should  be  given  feed  or 
words  to  that  effect.  As  for  horses  and  wagons  be 
ing  sent  after  the  beef  (after  they  had  been  stealing 
and  butchering  in  so  high-handed  a  manner),  the 
General  said  that  and  many  other  things  would  be 
considered  after  they  had  acceded  to  the  Great 
Father's  request  to  move  in  the  agency.  Any  ref 
erence  whatever  to  the  wholesale  devastation,  dep 
redations,  thieving,  burning  of  buildings,  etc.,  was 
studiously  avoided  on  both  sides.  After  the  pow 
wow  was  over  the  Indians  were  conducted  to  the 
Quartermaster's  department  and  there  given  a  big 
fat  feed.  Then  the  squaws  living  at  the  agency 
came  out  in  gala  day  feathers  and  gave  a  grand 
squaw  dance. 

Soon  after  this  fruitless  pow-wow,   the  hostile  In- 

FIGHTING  AMONG  THEMSELVES. 

dians  began  fighting  among  themselves.  The  con 
flict  was  for  the  leadership  between  Two  Strike  and 
Short  Bull,  each  wishing  to  control  the  united  bands. 
Two  Strike  was  supported  by  Turning  Bear,  Big 


42O  AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR. 

Turkey,  High  Pipe,  Big  Bad  Horse,  and  Bull  Dog 
and  their  bands.  The  other  party,  with  Short  Bull 
as  leader,  included  Chiefs  Crow  Dog,  Kicking  Bear, 
High  Hawk,  Eagle  Pine,  and  a  host  of  Standing 
Rock  and  Cheyenne  Agency  Indians.  The  fight 
was  bitterly  contested  for  several  hours,  and  several 
Indians  were  killed.  The  valley  in  the  edge  of  the 
Bad  Lands  was  crowded  with  mounted  Indians,  clad 
in  full  war  rig,  feathers  and  rifles  flashing  in  the  air, 
as  the  two  parties  went  dashing,  wheeling,  circling 
over  the  small  plain. 

As  a  result  of  this  disturbance  Two  Strike  and 
his  followers  started  in  toward  Pine  Ridge  again, 
while  Short  Bull,  Kicking  Bear,  and  a  smaller  fol 
lowing,  went  north,  further  into  the  Bad  Lands. 
Then  General  Brooke  sent  out  300  friendly  Indians 
to  join  Two  Strike  at  the  river  and  go  with  him  back 
to  the  Bad  Lands  and  try  and  bring  Short  Bull  and 
his  crowd  in  peaceably,  if  possible  ;  by  force,  if  nec 
essary.  The  warriors  were  selected  entirely  from 
the  friendliest,  none  of  the  police  or  scouts  being 
permitted  to  go.  If  this  party  was  successful  it  was 
to  bring  in  Short  Bull,  Kicking  Bear,  and  their 
chiefs,  providing  there  were  no  scapegoats  for  pun 
ishment  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  crowd,  and  reliev 
ing  Two  Strike  and  others  from  blame.  At  the  same 
time  Lieutenant  Casey  with  his  Cheyenne  scouts  and 
Captain  Adams'  troop  of  the  First  Cavalry,  set  out  to 
head  Short  Bull  and  his  party,  and  the  Sixth,  Seventh 
and  Eighth  Cavalry  hurried  on  to  the  Bad  Lands. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

CATASTROPHE. 

THE  KILLING  OF  SITTING  BULL  AND  THE  RESULTS  THEREOF — NUMEROUS 
AFFRAYS — A  COUNCIL  AT  PINE  RIDGE — SITTING  BULL'S  GHOST — Bm 
FOOT  AND  His  MEN  COME  IN — ARREST  OF  A  PRETENDED  MESSIAH — 
HEMMING  IN  THE  HOSTILES — THE  WHOLE  BAND  CAPTURED. 

Matters  reached  a  crisis  at  last,  on  December 
1 5th,  not,  however,  at  Pine  Ridge,  but  forty  miles 
North  of  Fort  Yates.  It  was  reported  that  Sitting 
Bull  and  his  band  were  about  to  make  their  way  to 
the  Bad  Lands  to  join  the  hostiles  there.  Accord 
ingly  a  detachment  of  troops  and  Indian  police  were 
sent  to  arrest  the  turbulent  chief.  A  fight  occurred, 
and  Sitting  Bull  was  killed.  Of  this  tragedy  and 
the  events  immediately  surrounding  it,  we  have 
already  given  a  full  account  in  a  preceding  chapter. 
It  may  well  be  recorded  here,  however,  that  there 
seemed  to  be  ample  reason  for  thinking  that  Sitting 
Bull  was  going  to  the  Bad  Lands  and  that  his  arri 
val  there  would  have  meant  war.  For  on  the  very 
evening  before  he  was  killed,  the  Bad  Lands  were 

A  GREAT  LIGHT  SUDDENLY  BLAZE  UP 

ablaze  with  signal  fires.     People  at  Pine  Ridge  saw, 
that   night  a  great  light  suddenly  blaze  up  in  the 

421 


422  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

northwest  in  the  direction  of  the  Bad  Lands. 
The  light  faded  to  a  sullen  glow  and  then  rapidly 
spread  along  the  sky  for  a  distance  of  a  couple  of 
miles.  Men  posted  in  Indian  signals  in  the  samp 
said  that  this  meant  that  the  Indians  in  the  Bad 
Lands  had  determined  to  fight.  The  Indians  in  the 
camp  of  the  friendlies  on  being  asked  what  the  sig 
nal  meant  declined  at  first  to  talk,  but  being  pressed 
finally  said  it  meant  that  their  brothers  in  the  Bad 
Lands  would  be  on  the  war  path  within  one  sun, 
and  that  all  Indians  who  did  not  join  them  would  be 
dogs  and  enemies  forever.  The  friendlies,  however, 
disclaimed  any  intention  of  obeying  the  signal. 

The  death  of  Sitting  Bull  created  tremendous  ex 
citement  all  through  the  Indian  country.  Instead  of 
causing  relief,  it  aroused  the  keenest  apprehension. 
It  was  feared  that  many  settlers  would  fall  victims  to 
the  vengeance  of  the  Sioux,  and  thousands  of  refu 
gees  flocked  to  Bismarck  and  Mandau  for  safety. 

General  Miles  now  set  out  from  St.  Paul  for  Dead- 
wood,  by  way  of  Standing  Rock.  He  telegraphed 
back  that  Chief  Two  Strike  had  come  into 
General  Brooke's  camp,  at  Pine  Ridge  and  surren 
dered,  but  that  part  of  his  band  still  remained  out. 
There  had  come  in  with  him  184  lodges,  containing 
about  800  Indians.  General  Miles  established  his 
headquarters  for  the  time  at  Rapid  City,  with  150 
soldiers.  General  Carr  was  at  the  junction  of  Rapid 
and  Cheyenne  rivers,  with  400  soldiers,  ready  to 
move  on  to  Pine  Ridge  as  soon  as  trouble  began. 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR. 

Seven  companies  of  the  i7th  Infantry  were  sent 
from  Fort  Russell  to  Pine  Ridge. 

"  My  information"  said  General  Miles, "  was  reliable 
and  positive  of  Sitting  Bull's  emissaries  and  runners 
going  to  different  tribes  and  inciting  them  to  hostili 
ty.  The  order  for  his  arrest  was  not  given  too  soon, 
as  he  was  about  leaving  with  100  fighting  men.  The 
effect  has  been  disheartening  to  many  others.  I  have 

TO  DESTROY  OR  CAPTURE. 

directed  the  troops  to  -destroy  or  capture  the  few 
who  escaped  after  his  death,  from  Standing  Rock. 
General  Brooke  has  more  than  1,000  lodges,  or 
over  5,000  fighting  Indians,  under  his  control  at 
Pine  Ridge,  but  there  are  still  250  lodges,  or  over 
1,000  fighting  Indians  in  the  Bad  Lands  that  are  de 
fiant  and  hostile." 

A  courier  came  to  General  Carr's  camp,  on  De 
cember  1 8th,  to  report  that  a  party  of  fifteen  men 
were  besieged  fifty  miles  from  there  on  Spring 
Creek  at  Daly's  ranch.  The  Indians  had  made 
three  attempts  to  fire  the  ranch.  One  was  nearly 
successful.  One  of  the  occupants,  M.  H.  Day,  Aide- 
de-camp  to  the  Governor  of  the  State.  The  courier 
had  to  make  a  break  through  the  Indians,  firing  both 
pistols  right  and  left.  One  of  their  bullets  penetra 
ted  his  overcoat.  He  rode  by  a  circuitous  route  to 
our  camp.  General  Carr  sent  Major  Tupper  with 
100  men  to  the  rescue.  Near  Smithville  a  large 
fiumber  of  Indians  were  seen  in  a  small  creek,  in 
the  brakes,.  A  number  of  shots  were  exchanged. 


424  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

While  some  of  the  Goverment  wagons  were  crossing 
Spring  Street  Creek,  they  and  escort  were  attacked 
by  about  forty  Indians  and  over  100  shots  were  ex 
changed.  One  soldier  was  wounded,  and  another 
had  a  bullet  through  his  hat.  A  troop  of  Captain 
Well's  cavalry  came  to  their  rescue  and  the  Indians 
ran  away.  General  Carr  sent  a  troop  of  cavalry  up 
into  the  Bad  Lands  to  watch  any  movement  of  the 
hostiles.  A  signal  service  was  established  between 
the  troop  and  camp.  The  troop  reported  about 
seventy  teepees  in  the  Indian  stronghold,  wholly  in 
accessible.  The  only  known  outlet  for  these  Indians 
was  a  trail  which  goes  up  Cottonwood  across  the 
road  from  Rapid  Creek  to  Wounded  Knee.  This 
pass  was  closed  next  day  by  the  Sixth  Infantry. 

The  military  authorities  at  Pine  Ridge,  on  Decem 
ber  1 8th,  counted  the  returned  Indians  and  issued 
rations  to  them.  There  were  1,024.  A  grand  coun- 

HIS  HEART  WAS  BROKEN. 

cil  was  held.  Red  Cloud  told  them  that  his  heart 
was  broken.  They  had  caused  a  deal  of  trouble, 
and  their  stock  was  there  eating  grass  (a  very  ser 
ious  thing,  there  being  so  much  stock  there),  and 
they  were  eating  his  rations,  but  he  was  willing  to 
^give  the  grass  and  rations,  and  he  grunted.  He 
would  count  it  all  nothing  if  the  trouble  could  be 
settled.  If  those  who  were  out  would  not  come  in 
and  the  soldiers  were  forced  to  kill  them,  he  should 
feel  sorry,  for  they  were  his  relatives,  but  he  must 
say  that  it  was  just 


AND   THE  INDIAN  IVAR.  425 

The  next  day  brought  this  news  from  the  camp 
on  Cheyenne  river:  "From  twenty  to  thirty  ranch 
ers  rode  or  drove  into  camp  to-day  all  heavily  armed 
and  all  agree  that  the  Indians  are  augmenting  their 
forces  and  growing  bolder  hourly.  It  was  ascer 
tained  early  this  morning  that  the  deserted  ranch 
and  outlying  buildings  of  a  man  named  Wilson  were 
burned  last  night,  having  first  been  looted.  M.  H. 
Day,  aide-de-camp  to  Governor  Mellette,  rode  in 
with  four  other  men  from  his  ranch  to-day.  He  re 
ports  that  besides  the  seventy  tepees,  which  contain 
about  350  hostiles,  between  Battle  and  Spring 
Creeks,  he  saw  another  large  band  further  down  the 
Cheyeriae  River,  which  will  number  at  the  very 
least  300. 

"  Three  heliograph  stations  had  been  established 
— one  in  camp,  one  on  the  top  of  the  high  bluffs, 
and  one  which  had  followed  up  as  nearly  as  practi 
cable  Captain  Stanton's  command.  About  2  P.  M., 
a  soldier  was  seen  coming  down  the  bluff,  putting 
his  horse  to  a  full  gallop,  and  immediately  the  helio 
graph  lines  began  working,  The  rider  crossed  the 
river  and  reported  to  General  Carr  that  Captain  Stan- 
ton  was  in  an  engagement  with  the  Indians.  General 
Carr  gave  orders  for  Lieutenant  Scott  and  Troop 
D  to  go  to  his  assistance.  Within  a  few  minutes  the 

CHARGING  UP  THE  BLUFF. 

troop  was  charging  up  the  bluff  to  the  scene  of  ac 
tion.  When  the  soldier  dismounted  his  hard-ridden 
horse  dropped  dead.  Other  troops  were  immedi- 


426  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

ately  put  in  marching  order.  After  some  hours 
Captain  Stanton  and  the  troops  returned.  He  said 
that  after  noon  he  had  noticed  a  large  party  of  In 
dians  with  a  herd  of  ponies  coming  from  the  east 
and  heading  for  the  Bad  Lands.  He  immediately 
gave  chase  and  after  running  several  miles  grad 
ually  drew  up  to  the  Indians,  who  began  firing,  but 
their  bullets  went  wide  of  the  mark.  Shots  were  ex 
changed  for  some  time,  when  the  Indians  made  for 
a  creek  called  Wounded  Knee.  They  went  down 
this  creek  and  were  lost  to  view  in  the  Bad  Lands. 
Captain  Stanton  followed  them  for  some  time,  but 
fearing  an  ambush,  withdrew  his  troops  and  re 
turned  to  camp." 

A  ranchman  named  Tom  Hetlund,  who  lived 
thirty-five  miles  up  Bad  River,  went  to  Pierre  on  De 
cember  2Oth,  with  a  strange  story.  "  He  said  the 
peaceable,  christianized,  half  civilized  Two  Kettle 
Sioux  had  been  seized  with  a  sudden  frenzy,  and 
were  imitating  the  wildest  orgies  of  the  ghost  dan 
ces  indulged  in  by  the  hostiles.  His  account  was 
as  follows  :  "  Night  before  last  some  Indians  were 
returning  from  a  little  social  gathering  when  a  sight 

CHILLED  THEM  TO  THE  BONE. 

met  their  eyes  that  chilled  them  to  the  bone.  One 
of  their  number  directed  attention  to  the  top  of  a 
bluff  and  there  stood  a  figure  in  white  perfectly  mo 
tionless.  Suddenly  one  of  them  cried  out  in  Sioux  : 
'  It's  Sitting  Bull  1 '  Then  did  the  marrow  b  the 
bones  of  these  Indians  grow  cold,  and  their  teeth 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  427 

chattered  like  beans  in  a  barrel.  The  phantom  sud 
denly  commenced  waving  an  arm  as  if  motioning 
them  to  follow,  and  with  the  speed  of  a  bird  glided 
from  hill  top  to  hill  top,  finally  disappearing  in  the 
direction  of  the  Bad  Lands.  Only  one  interpreta 
tion  could  be  given  this  ghostly  visitation.  Sitting 
Bull  was  thus  identified  as  really  the  simon-pure, 
long-danced  for  Messiah,  and  he  was  beckoning 
them  to  join  his  followers  and  avenge  his  spirit.  A 
ghost  dance  is  the  consequence,  and  the  spirit  has 
moved  down  the  river,  and  it  has  affected  them  as 
far  down  as  Willow  Creek." 

Acting  under  General  Brooke's  authority,  500 
friendly  Indians  left  Pine  Ridge,  on  December  2Oth 
to  attempt  to  bring  in  the  hostiles.  The  Indians  at 
Fort  Yates  were  quiet,  and  39  of  Sitting  Bull's  band 
who  had  left  the  Agency  a  few  days  before,  sent 
word  that  they  would  return.  General  Carr  sent 
out  a  cavalry  force  to  intercept  the  band  that  was 
reported  as  moving  towards  the  Bad  Lands.  Big 
Foot  and  Hump  surrendered  and  returned  to  the 
agency,  Every  day  the  cordon  of  troops  around 
the  Indians  was  drawn  tighter. 

Big  Foot  brought  in  with  him  150  of  Sitting 
Bull's  warriors,  and  this  greatly  weakened  the  force 
which  the  hostiles  expected  to  gather  in  the  Bad 
Lands.  Had  Big  Foot  and  Hump  gone  into  the 
Bad  Lands,  other  northern  tribes  would  have  joined 
them  and  swelled  the  force  to  at  least  1,000  fighting 
men.  Had  this  been  done,  according  to  General 


428  L irE  OF  SITTING  BULL. 

Miles,  the  Indians  could  have  massacred  as  many 
settlers  as  the  Sioux  did  in  1862. 

Stands  First,  a  clever  Indian  scout,  spent  a  day 
in  the  hostile  camp.  When  he  attempted  to  present 
the  peaceful  mission  on  which  he  had  been  sent,  the 
Indians  pointed  their  guns  at  him  and  drowned  his 
voice  with  their  war  cries.  One  of  their  leaders 

LISTEN  TO  NO  MORE  PEACE  TALK. 

told  him  that  they  would  listen  to  no  more  peace 
talk  and  would  never  again  allow  an  advocate  of 
peace  to  leave. their  camp  alive.  He  said  that  the 
white  soldiers  were  cowards  and  afraid  to  fight  and 
called  Stands  First  a  women  and  a  slave  of  the 
white  men. 

A  genuine  sensation  was  enjoyed  at  Pine  Ridge 
on  December  22d.  The  police  arrested  in  Red 
Cloud's  camp  a  fellow  who  pretended  to  be  the  In- 

THE  INDIAN  MESSIAH. 

dian  Messiah.  When  they  pulled  the  blanket  off 
him,  however,  they  found  him  to  be  a  white  man,  an 
intelligent  but  harmless  crank  named  Hopkins,  who 
had  come  there  from  Iowa.  He  claimed  that  he  was 
there  in  the  interest  of  peace  and  had  come  there 
because  the  Indians  had  misinterpreted  his  message. 
He  wanted  to  go  on  to  the  Bad  Lands  and  preach 
to  the  Indians  there,  but  the  agent  sent  him  instead 
to  Chadron  escorted  by  some  policemen.  Some  of 
the  Indians  were  indignant  over  his  arrest  while 
others  laughed  and  said  that  he  was  a  crazy  fool. 
None  of  the  chiefs  believed  in  him,  and  Red  Cloud 


AND  THE  IINDAN  WAR.  4.29 

spat  in  his  face  and  said:  "  You  go  home.  You  are 
no  son  of  God." 

At  about  the  same  time  A.  I.  Chapman,  an  In 
dian  scout,  returned  from  Nevada,  whither  he  had 
been  sent  to  interview  the  so-called  Messiah  at 
Walker's  Lake.  He  reported  his  mission  as  follows  : 
"  The  Messiah,  Quoitize  Ow,  as  he  calls  himself,  is 
a  full  blooded  Piute  Indian  and  has  always  been 
peacefully  disposed.  He  spoke  freely  of  his  call  to 

EXPERIENCE  WITH  THE  ALMIGHTY, 

preach.  His  first  experience  with  the  Almighty  was 
one  afternoon  while  hunting.  Hearing  a  noise  he 
started  to  learn  the  cause  when  he  was  suddenly 
thrown  to  the  ground  He  was  then  taken  to 
Heaven  and  there  saw  all  the  whites  and  Indians 
that  have  ever  lived  in  the  world.  He  was  after 
ward  brought  back  to  earth  and  returned  to  his  sen 
ses  on  the  same  spot  where  he  was  stricken  down. 
While  he  was  in  Heaven,  God  told  him  he  had  been 
looking  for  a  man  whom  he  could  trust  to  reform  the 
world,  and  he  had  picked  out  Quoitize  Ow.  So 
Quoitize  Ow  set  out  to  perform  his  mission.  He 
taught  the  Indians  that  they  should  work  and  avoid 
fighting  except  in  self  defense.  Last  summer  the 
Indians  told  him  that  unless  it  rained  soon  the  crops 
would  fail.  He  told  them  to  go  home  and  it  would 
be  all  right,  and  in  three  days  there  was  a  heavy  fall 
of  rain."  Chapman  thought  Quoitize  Ow  was  only 
indirectly  to  blame  for  the  Indian  uprising, 
his  doctrine  having  imbued  the  Indians  with  a 


430 


LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL. 


more   independent   spirit    to   resist   their    wrongs. 

Two  cow  boys  reported  to  General  Miles  that 
they  had  seen  Two  Strike  and  Kicking  Bear  leave 
the  cabin  of  the  latter' s  brother-in-law,  about  ten 
miles  from  Rapid  City,  and  go  toward  the  Bad 
Lands.  A  troop  of  cavalry  was  immediately 
started  after  them,  but  after  chasing  them  13  miles 
lost  track  of  them  in  the  Bad  Lands.  Another  troop 
went  out  in  pursuit  of  another  party  of  run  away 
Indians  and  exchanged  some  shots  with  them,  but 
only  succeeded  in  capturing  two  squaws  and  one 
pappoose. 

There  were  no  further  hostilities  of  importance 
until  the  day  before  Christmas.  On  that  day  about 
80  hostile  Indians  made  two  attempts  to  break  into 
a  camp  of  Cheyenne  scouts  at  the  mouth  of  Battle 
Creek.  The  first  attack  was  quickly  repulsed  with 
a  loss  of  one  scout  killed  and  two  wounded  and  two 
Indians  killed  and  several  wounded.  The  second 
attack  was  made  after  dark  and  was  led  by  Kicking 
Bear  himself.  Hot  firing  was  kept  up  for  an  hour 
or  more  and  a  number  of  the  attacking  Indians 
were  killed  and  wounded. 

The  next  day  the  Indians  who  had  come  in  with 
Hump  and  Big  Foot  broke  out  again  and  made  for 
the  Bad  Lands,  and  General  Carr  and  a  force  of 
cavalry  men  started  in  pursuit.  Serious  depreda 
tions  were  renewed  at  many  points.  On  hearing 
this  rtews  General  Miles  remarked  that  he  was  tired 
of  fooling  with  the  Indians,  and  thought  that  the 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  43  I 

best  thing1  to  be  done  was  to  attack  them  at  once. 
More  peaceful  news  came  soon,  however.  On 
December  28th  it  was  announced  that  the  7th  Cav 
alry,  under  Captain  Whitesides,  had  captured  Big 
Foot  and  his  band  on  Porcupine  Creek  without  a 
conflict,  and  all  the  other  Indians  in  the  Bad  Lands 

DECIDED  TO  COME  IN. 

had  decided  to  come  in  and  surrender.  This  news 
was  confirmed  and  great  was  the  rejoicing  thereat, 
for  it  was  believed  that  the  Indian  war  had  thus  been 
brought  to  an  end. 

It  was  on  Sunday  morning  that  Big  Foot  surren 
dered  ;  a  bright  warm  day.  An  Indian  scout  who 
had  been  sent  forward  came  hurrying  in  waving  his 
hat  with  the  good  news  that  Big  Foot  was  only  eight 
miles  away.  "  Boots  and  saddles  "  was  sounded 
and  the  cavalry  men  hurried  forward.  Descending 
the  slope  to  the  Porcupine  Valley  they  found  Big 
Foot's  band  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle.  There  were 
more  than  150  fighting  men,  heavily  armed.  Had 
a  shot  been  fired  there  would  have  been  a  desperate 
battle.  But  Big  Foot  advanced  from  his  side  alone, 
and  Captain  Whitesides  went  forward  alone  to 
meet  him.  Big  Foot  began  a  long  talk,  telling  how 
tired  he  was  of  running  around  and  how  much  he 
wanted  to  make  peace  with  the  white  men.  The 
Captain  however,  told  him  that  there  was  only  one 

SURRENDER  AT  ONCE. 

thing  to  be  done,  to  surrender  at  once.  "  All  right," 
said  Big  Foot,  "  I  surrender."  And  in  a  moment 


43  2  LIFE  OF  SITTIGN  B  UL  L 

the  whole  band  of  fighting  men  and  250  womeff 
and  children  beside  had  given  themselves  up.  They 
were  all  marched  over  to  the  old  camp  of  the  7th 
Cavalry  on  Wounded  Knee.  There  the  troops 
formed  a  cordon  around  them  and  sent  for  reinforce 
ments.  Among  the  prisoners  were  all  of  the  Sitting 
Bull  party  who  fled  after  that  chief's  death. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

RED  WAR. 

COLONEL  FORSYTHE  TAKES  COMMAND  AT  WOUNDED  KNEE — THE  INDI 
ANS  SUSPICIOUS  AND  UNEASY — PREPARATIONS  TO  DISARM  THEM — 
A  DESPERATE  OUTBREAK  —  THE  INDIANS  OUTNUMBERED  AND 
SLAUGHTERED  WITHOUT  MERCY — INCIDENTS  OF  THE  BATTLE — DEATH 
OF  CAPTAIN  WALLACE — LIST  OF  THE  KILLED  AND  WOUNDED  ELAINE 
GOODALE'S  REPORT. 

Sitting  Bull  was  dead,  and  thus  the  first  of  two 
decisive  measures  was  accomplished.  Now  came  the 
second,  the  disarming  of  Big  Foot's  band.  Al 
though  these  Indians  had  now  surrendered  in  entire 
ly  good  faith,  they  were  most  suspicious  and  uneasy, 
The  tragic  fate  of  Sitting  Bull  had  alarmed  them, 
and  they  only  half  trusted  their  white  captors. 
There  were  those  among  them  who  belived  that 
they  were  all  to  be  put  to  death,  and  when  the  sur 
render  of  their  weapons  was  talked  of  this  belief 
was  much  intensified.  They  naturally  supposed 
that  their  arms  were  to  be  taken  from  them  only  to 
render  them  defenseless,  and  therefore,  easier  vic 
tims.  It  was  in  this  state  of  mind  that  they  went 
into  camp  on  the  bank  of  Wounded  Knee  Creek,  a 


436  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

place  destined  to  become  famous  as  the  scene  of  one 
of  the  most  bloody  Indian  battles  of  recent  years. 

Colonel  Forsythe  arrived  at  the  camp  on  Wound 
ed  Knee  Creek  early  on  the  morning  of  December 
29th,  with  orders  from  General  Brooke  to  disarm 
Big  Foot's  band.  Colonel  Forsythe  assumed  com 
mand  of  the  regulars,  which  comprised  two  battal 
ions  of  500  men,  with  Hotchkiss  guns.  It  was 
feared  that  the  Indians  would  offer  resistance  and 

EVERY  PRECAUTION  WAS  TAKEN. 

every  precaution  was  taken  to  prevent  an  escape 
and  to  render  the  movement  successful.  Colonel 
Forsythe  threw  his  force  around  the  Indian  camp 
and  mounted  the  Hotckiss  guns  so  as  to  command 
the  camp,  and  at  eight  o'clock  issued  the  order  to 
disarm  the  redskins. 

The  preparations  were  quickly  made.  The  com 
mand  was  given  to  the  Indians  to  come  forward  from 
the  tents.  This  was  done,  the  squaws  and  children 
remaining  behind  the  tepees.  The  braves  advanced 
a  short  distance  from  the  camp  to  the  place  designa 
ted,  and  were  placed  in  a  half  circle,  the  warriors 
squatting  on  the  ground  in  front  of  the  tent,  where 
Big  Foot,  their  chief,  lay  sick  with  pneumonia.  By 
twenties  they  were  ordered  to  give  up  their  arms. 
The  first  twenty  went  to  their  tents  and  came  back 
with  only  two  guns.  This  irritated  Major  White- 
side,  who  was  superintending  this  part  of  the  work. 
After  a  hasty  consultation  with  Colonel  Forsythe 
he  gave  the  order  for  the  cavalrymen,  who  were  all 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WA%. 

dismounted  and  formed  in  almost  a  square,  about 
twenty-five  paces  back,  to  close  in.  They  did  so, 
and  took  a  stand  within  twenty  feet  of  the  Indians. 
When  this  had  been  done  a  detachment  of  cavalry 

TO  SEARCH  FOR  ARMS. 

went  through  the  tepees  to  search  for  arms.  They 
found  about  fifty  rifles.  But  in  the  meantime  the 
Indian  warriors,  who  were  firmly  and  naturally  con 
vinced  that  they  were  about  to  be  put  to  death, 
raised  their  plaintive  death  chant.  Then  in  the  twink 
ling  of  an  eye  they  changed  it  to  their  war-song,  and 
before  the  startled  soldiers  fully  realized  what  was 
happening,  the  Indians  drew  their  rifles  from  be 
neath  their  blankets  and  opened  fire.  Those  Indians 
who  had  no  guns  rushed  on  the  soldiers  with  toma 
hawk  in  one  hand  and  scalping-knife  in  the  other. 
The  troops  outnumbered  the  Indians,  three  or  four 
to  one,  and  the  case  from  the  first  was  hope 
less.  It  was  simply  the  last  desperate  death  strug 
gle  of  brave  men  who  believed  they  were  all  to  be 
massacred  and  who  meant  to  sell  their  lives  as  dearly 
as  possible. 

The  fight  lasted  for  over  an  hour.  During  this 
time  Captain  Wallace  and  seven  troopers  were 
killed  and  fifteen  wounded,  including  Garlington,  of 
Arctic  fame.  The  slaughter  among  the  savages  was 
terrible,  despite  the  fact  that  the  soldiers  had  to  run 

"REMEMBER  CUSTER." 

them  down  in  their  ambuscades.  When  the  fight 
had  fully  begun  the  troopers  cheered  one  another 


438  L1FE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

with  the  cry,  "  Remember  Custer."  The  regiment 
fought  as  only  men  with  a  revengeful  grievance  can 
fight.  There  was  no  disorder  after  the  first  shock 
of  surprise  had  passed  away.  On  foot  and  mounted 
the  troopers  deployed  in  all  directions,  driving  the 
savages  from  cover  and  sending  them  in  disorder  to 
the  more  impregnable  buttes  to  the  north. 

Nearly  100  Indians  fell  before  the  sheet  of  flame 
that  swept  down  from  the  batteries  and  guns  of  the 
United  States  troops.  The  manner  in  which  Big 
Foot's  band  turned  upon  their  captors,  stood  before 
the  terribly  raking  fire  and  shot  down  so  many  sol 
diers,  rivals  anything  that  has  accompanied  the  Indi 
an  wars  of  America.  Though  encumbered  with  their 
squaws  and  pappooses,  they  almost  snatched  victory 
from  defeat,  and  displayed  a  degree  of  reckless  dar 
ing  and  bravery  that  has  rarely  been  equalled. 

The  instant  the  attack  began  the  soldiers,  mad 
dened  at  the  sight  of  their  falling  comrades,  hardly 
awaited  the  command,  and  in  a  moment  the  whole 

A  SHEET  OF  F/RE, 

camp  was  a  sheet  of  fire,  above  which  the  smoke 
rolled,  obscuring  the  central  scene  from  view. 
Through  this  horrible  curtain  single  Indians  could 
be  seen  at  times  flying  before  the  fire,  but  after  the 
first  discharge  from  the  carbines  of  the  troopers 
there  were  few  of  them  left.  They  fell  on  all  sides 
like  grain  before  the  scythe. 

Indians  and  soldiers  lay  together  and,  wounded, 
fought  on  the  ground.      Off  toward  the  bluffs  the 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  439 

few  remaining  warriors  fled,  turning  occasionally  to 
fire,  but  now  evidently  caring  more  for  escape  than 
battle.  Only  the  wounded  Indians  seemed  possess- 

THE  COURAGE  OF  DEVILS. 

ed  of  the  courage  of  devils.  From  the  ground 
where  they  had  fallen  they  continued  to  fire  until 
their  ammunition  was  gone  or  until  killed  by  the 
soldiers.  Both  sides  forgot  everything  excepting 
only  the  loading  and  discharging  of  guns. 

It  was  only  in  the  early  part  of  the  affray  that 
hand  to  hand  fighting  was  seen.  The  carbines  were 
clubbed,  sabres  gleamed  and  war  clubs  circled  in 
the  air  coming  down  like  thunderbolts.  But  this 
was  only  for  a  short  time.  The  Indians  could  not 
stand  that  storm  from  the  soldiers.  It  was  only  a 
stroke  of  life  before  death.  The  remnant  fled  and 
the  battle  became  a  hunt. 

It  was  now  that  the  artillery  was  called  into  requi 
sition.  Before  the  fighting  was  so  close  that  the 
guns  could  not  be  trained  without  danger  of  death 
to  the  soldiers.  Now  with  the  Indians  flying  where 
they  might  it  was  easier  to  reach  them.  The  Cat 
ling  and  Hotchkiss  guns  were  trained,  and  then  be 
gan  a  heavy  firing,  which  lasted  half  an  hour,  with 
frequent  heavy  volleys  of  musketry  and  cannon.  It 

A  WAR  OF  EXTERMINATION. 

was  a  war  of  extermination  now.  It  was  difficult  to 
restrain  the  troops.  Tactics  were  almost  abandoned. 
About  the  only  tactics  was  to  kill  while  it  could  be 
done,  wherever  an  Indian  could  be  seen.  Down  in- 


44O  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

to  the  creek  and  up  over  the  bare  hills  they  were 
followed  by  artillery  and  musketry  fire,  and  the  en 
gagement  went  on  until  not  a  live  Indian  was  in  sight. 

More  than  ninety  Indians  were  killed  by  the 
deadly  fire  from  the  Hotchkissguns  and  the  unerring 
aim  of  the  soldiers.  But  when  the  smoke  cleared 
away  it  was  found  that  the  firing  of  the  redskins  had 
been  only  a  degree  less  effective  than  that  of  the 
well-trained  troopers.  Twenty-five  brave  soldiers 
were  scattered  on  the  field  and  thirty-five  others 
were  suffering  from  serious  wounds. 

Chief  Big  Foot  was  lying  in  his  tepee,  dying  of 
pneumonia,  when  the  battle  began.  He  slowly 
drew  himself  up,  but  had  hardly  reached  an  erect 

TWENTY  BULLETS  STRUCK  HIM. 

position  when  at  least  twenty  bullets  struck  him, 
and  he  pitched  forward,  never  to  rise  again.  His 
squaw  rose  to  her  feet  with  a  Winchester  in  her 
hand,  when  a  bullet  struck  her  in  the  heart  and  she 
sprang  convulsively  in  the  air,  rolling  down  the  hill 
like  a  ball. 

Colonel  James  Forsythe,  in  command  of  the 
troops,  showed  only  the  greatest  personal  courage 
and  most  soldierly  qualities.  Unarmed,  in  the  very 
thickest  of  the  fight,  with  bullets  buzzing  around 
him  and  men  falling  at  his  side,  he  gave  his  orders 
as  quietly  and  coolly  as  if  sitting  in  a  parlor.  His 

HIS  COOLNESS,  KIND-HEARTEDNESS  AND  JUSTICE. 

coolness,  kind-heartedness  and  justice  were  never 
better  illustrated  than  his  action  when  he  became 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  441 

satisfied  that  his  men  were  safe  from  further  injury. 
While  his  men  were  boiling  with  rage  and  fired  with 
the  almost  uncontrollable  fever  of  battle,  burning  to 
revenge  comrades  slaughtered  in  cold  blood,  he  gave 
the  order  to  cease  firing,  with  the  words:  "  We  did 
not  come  here  to  butcher  them." 

Major  Whiteside  was  equally  cool  and  in  full  pos 
session  of  his  faculties  as  if  on  parade,  and  added 
fresh  laurels  to  his  long  brilliant  record. 

Lieutenant  Rice,  who  was  leading  his  company 
over  a  series  of  knolls  south  of  the  creek,  had  two 
horses  shot  from  under  him,  and  Lieutenant  Robin 
son,  who  was  in  his  rear,  also  narrowly  escaped 
death  from  a  bullet  which  cut  the  horn  of  the  sad 
dle.  When  the  troopers  got  fairly  at  work  they 

POURED  A  DEADLY  FIRE. 

poured  a  deadly  fire  into  the  savages,  who  were  hur 
rying  with  their  guns  to  the  crags  and  cliffs  and 
buttes  which  surround  the  camp.  Many  of  the  hos- 
tiles  leaped  upon  their  ponies  before  the  battle  had 
fairly  opened  and  fled  toward  the  Bad  Lands. 

The  Indians  formed  no  order  of  battle.  Each 
man  fought  for  himself,  and  the  soldiers  were  at  a 
disadvantage  from  the  start.  Captain  Hayden  and 
his  artillerymen  worked  desperately  to  get  their  guns 
to  perform  effective  service,  but  they  were  so  slow 
at  their  work  that  most  of  the  casualties  had  occur- 

SHELLS  BEGAN  TO  BURST. 

red  before  the  shells  began  to  burst  over  the  ambus 
cades  of  the  hostiles.  Captain  Hayden  had  one 


442  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

Hotchkiss  gun,  which  was  used  to  some  effect  before 
the  howitzers  began  to  work.  The  Indians  have  an 
everlasting  hatred  for  cannon,  and  the  men  who 
work  them,  and  it  was  noticeable  that  in  this  battle 
the  heaviest  fire  from  the  enemy  was  directed  toward 
the  artillerymen,  among  whom  there  were  several 
casualties. 

The  death  of  Captain  Wallace  caused  universal 
regret.  He  had  gone  to  a  tepee  to  direct  the  search 
for  arms  when  the  firing  began.  At  first  it  was  sup- 

KILLED  AT  THE  OPENING  VOLLEY, 

posed  that  he  had  been  killed  at  the  opening  volley 
from  the  Indians.  When  his  body  was  recovered 
he  was  found  lying  at  the  entrance  of  a  tepee  with 
his  empty  revolver  in  his  hand.  Every  chamber  had 
been  discharged.  His  head  had  been  crushed  in? 
front  and  back,  by  stone  battle-axes.  There  was  no 
braver  man  in  the  whole  army  than  he.  He  was  in 
Reno's  command  at  the  time  of  the  Custer  massa 
cre.  When  Reno  was  driven  to  cover  Wallace's 
Adjutant  fell  from  his  horse  mortally  wounded. 
Wallace  threw  himself  from  his  horse  under  a  ter 
rific  fire  from  the  savages,  seized  the  wounded  man, 
vaulted  into  his  saddle,  and  bore  the  officer  toward 
the  rear.  The  officer  knew  that  he  was  dying, 
and  told  Wallace  to  drop  him  and  save  himself. 
Wallace  carried  the  officer  over  a  mile,  forded  two 
streams,  and  was  nearing  a  place  of  safety  when  the 
savages  got  so  close  that  he  was  forced  to  abandon 
the  officer  in  the  bush,  dismounting  for  that  purpose 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  443 

and  remounting  after  he  had  hidden  him  away.  He 
was  under  a  hot  fire  all  the  time  and  showed  unlimi 
ted  pluck. 

Captain  Wallace  was  born  in  South  Carolina,  on 
June  29th,  1849.  He  was  appointed  a  cadet  at  the 
Military  Academy  from  South  Carolina  in  1868,  and 
was  graduated  in  June.  1872.  He  was  at  once 
assigned  to  the  7th  cavalry,  with  the  rank  of  second 
lieutenant.  He  became  a  first  lieutenant  on  June 
25th,  1876,  and  from  that  date  until  June  6th,  1877, 
he  was  adjutant  of  the  regiment.  He  became  a 
captain  on  September  23d,  1885,  and  for  a  long 
time  was  in  command  of  Troop  L,  of  his  regiment. 

Lieutenant  Garlington,  who  was  wounded  in  the 
arm  in  this  battle,  was  born  in  South  Carolina  and 
was  appointed  a  cadet  in  the  United  States  Military 
Academy  from  Georgia  in  July,  1872,  and  was  grad 
uated  June  1 5th,  1876.  He  became  Second  Lieuten 
ant  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry  June  i5th,  1876,  and 
First  Lieutenant  June  25th  of  the  same  year.  He 
accompanied  the  expedition  for  the  relief  of  Lieuten 
ant  Greely  to  the  Arctic  regions  in  1883.  When  his 
ship,  the  Proteus,  was  lost  in  Smith's  Sound,  Gar 
lington  retreated  with  the  crew  to  Upper  Nairk, 
nearly  500  miles  away.  Garlington  was  the  Adju 
tant  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry  at  the  time  of  the  Cus- 
ter  massacre,  or  soon  after,  and  he  was  the  officer 
who  signed  the  order  placing  the  only  living  repre 
sentative  of  civilization  which  escaped  alive  from  the 
scene  of  that  awful  slaughter,  on  the  pension  roll. 


444  LIFE  OF  BITTING  BULL 

It  was  a  horse,  which,  scarred  and  maimed,  came 
back  riderless  to  the  regiment,  and  was  always  cared 
for  as  a  pensioner  of  the  Government. 

The  following  is  a  complete  official  register  of  the 
killed  and  wounded  in  the  battle  of  Wounded  Knee, 
with  statement  of  places  in  which  the  mortal  injuries 
were  received : 

KILLED. 

SEVENTH    CAVALRY,    COMPANY   A. 

Kranberry,  A.,  arm  and  side. 
Dyer,  A.  C.,  sergeant,  chest. 
Frey,  Henry,  head. 
Johnson,  George,  head. 
Regan,  Michael,  head. 
Logan,  James,  head. 

COMPANY   B. 

Coffey.  D.  C.,  sergeant,  head. 
Forest,  Henry  A.,  head. 
Costillo,  John,  head. 
Cook,  Ralph  H.,  heart. 
Milzo,  William  S.,  head. 
Newell,  Charles  H.,  abdomen. 

COMPANY   C. 

Devreede,  John,  chest. 

COMPANY  D. 
Reinecky,  Frank  E.,  head. 

COMPANY   K. 

Nettles,  Robert  H.,  head. 
Keedner,  J.,  head. 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  445 

COMPANY   I. 

Bone,  Albert  G.,  chest. 
Koon,  Gustave,  head. 
Kelley,  James  E.,  head. 
Cummings,  James,  abdomen. 
Zehnder,  Bernhard,  chest. 

COMPANY  K. 

Wallace,  George  D.,  captain,  head. 
Hodges,  W.  J.,  sergeant,  abdomen. 
Adams,  William,  back. 
McCue,  John  M.,  back. 
Murphy,  Joseph,  head. 
McClints,  William  F.,  head. 

NON-COMMISSIONED    STAFF. 

Corwin,  R.  W.,  sergeant-major,  Seventh  Cavalry, 
hospital  corps. 

Polock,  Oscar,  groin. 

WOUNDED. 

Ernest  A.  Garlington,  first  lieutenant,  company 
A,  Seventh  cavalry. 

Thomas  Harran,  private, '  company  B,  Second 
infantry. 

Robert  Brunner,  private,  company  B,  Second 
infantry. 

John  Coffey,  private,  light  battery,  First  artillery. 

Harry  L.  Clifton,  corporal,  company  K,  Seventh 
cavalry. 

James  Ward,  sergeant,  company  B,  Seventh  cav 
alry. 


446  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

William  Toohey,  sergeant,  company  B,  Seventh 
cavalry. 

John  McKenzie,  private,  company  B,  Seventh 
cavalry. 

Harry  H.  Thomas,  private,  company  I,  Seventh 
cavalry. 

Christopher  Martin,  private,  company  A,  7th 
cavalry. 

John  F.  Frittle,  first  sergeant,  company  E,  Sev 
enth  cavalry. 

Daniel  McMahon,  private,  company  A,  Seventh 
cavalry. 

Adam  Neter,  private,  company  A,  Seventh  cav 
alry. 

Harry  Stone,  private,  company  B.  Seventh  cav 
alry. 

Fred  Woder,  private,  company  K,  Seventh  cav 
alry. 

Hugh  McGinnis,  private,  company  K.  Seventh 
cavalry. 

William  Davis,  private,  company  K,  Seventh 
cavalry. 

Edward  A.  Sullivan,  private,  company  K,  Seventh 
cavalry. 

Samuel  F.  Smith,  private,  company  K,  Seventh 
cavalry, 

Henry  Howard,  private,  company  I,  Seventh 
cavalry. 

Charles  Campbell,  quartermaster  sergeant. 

Gottlieb  Hipp,  private,  company  I,  Seventh  cavalry. 


LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL  447 

Frank  Lewis,  private,  company  B,  Seventh  cav 
alry. 

H.  L.  Hawthorn,  first  lieutenant,  Second  artillery. 

Alvin  H.  Hazelwood,  private,  company  H,  Sev 
enth  cavalry. 

George  York,  private,  company  D,  Seventh  cav 
alry. 

James  Christenson,  private,  company  K,  Seventh 
cavalry. 

Harry  Lincoln,  private,  company  A,  Seventh 
cavalry. 

William  H.  Green,  private,  company  G,  Seventh 
cavalry. 

George  Lloyd,  sergeant,  company  I,  Seventh 
cavalry. 

Herman  Kranberg,  private,  company  A,  Seventh 
cavalry. 

George  Elliott,  private,  company  K,  Seventh 
cavalry. 

Ervine  Schrievner,  private,  company  C,  Seventh 
cavalry. 

General  Miles  sent  the  following  official  report  of 
the  conflict  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  dated  at  Her. 
mosa,  S.  D.,  December  3oth :  "  Colonel  Forsythe 
says  sixty-two  dead  Indian  men  were  counted  on 
the  plain  where  the  attempt  was  made  to  disarm 
Big  Foot's  band,  and  where  the  fight  begun  on  other 
parts  of  the  ground  there  were  eighteen  more. 
These  do  not  include  those  killed  in  ravines  where 
dead  warriors  were  seen,  but  not  counted.  Six  were 


448  AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR. 

brought  in  badly  wounded,  and  six  others  were  with 
a  party  of  twenty-three  men  and  women,  which 
Captain  Jackson  had  to  abandon  when  attacked,  by 
150  Brule  Indians  from  the  agency.  This  accounts 

NINETY-TWO   MEN  KILLED. 

for  ninety-two  men  killed  and  leaves  few  alive  and 
unhurt:  The  women  and  children  broke  for  the  hills 
when  the  fight  began,  and  comparatively  few  of  them 
were  hurt  and  few  brought  in ;  thirty-nine  are  here, 
of  which  number  twenty-one  are  wounded.  Had  it 
not  been  for  the  attack  by  the  Brules  an  accurate 
account  would  have  been  made,  but  the  ravines 
were  not  searched  afterward.  I  think  this  shows 
very  little  apprehension  from  Big  Foot's  band  in  the 
future.  A  party  of  forty  is  reported  as  held  by  the 
scouts  at  the  head  of  Mexican  Creek,  These  con 
sist  of  all  sizes  and  the  cavalry  from  Rosebud  will 
bring  them  in  if  it  is  true.  "  These  Indians  under 
Big  Foot  were  among  the  most  desperate.  There 
were  thirty-eight  of  the  remainder  of  Sitting  Bull's 
following  that  joined  Big  Foot  on  the  Cheyenne 
River  and  thirty  that  broke  away  from  Hump's  fol 
lowing  when  he  took  his  band  and  Sitting  Bull's  In 
dians  at  Fort  Bennett,  making  in  all  nearly  160  war 
riors.  Before  leaving  their  camps  on  the  Fort  Chey- 
ennne  River  they  cut  up  their  harness,  mutilated 

FOR  THE  BAD  LANDS. 

their  wagons  and  started  south  for  the  Bad  Lands, 
evidently  intending  not  to  return,  but  to  go  to  war. 
Troops  were  placed  between  them  and  the  Bad 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  449 

Lands  and  they  never  succeeded  in  joining  the  hos- 
tiles  there.  All  their  movements  were  intercepted 
and  their  severe  loss  at  the  hands  of  the  7th  Cav 
alry  may  be  a  wholesome  lesson  to  the  other 
Sioux." 

Mr.  Royer,  the  agent  at  Pine  Ridge,  made  on  De 
cember  3  ist  his  report  of  the  battle  to  the  Com 
missioner  of  Indian  affairs,  as  follows: 

"  From  the  best  .information  I  can  obtain,  Big 
Foot  and  his  band  surrendered  to  Major  Whiteside, 
and  while  they  were  disarming  them,  an  Indian 
known  as  their  '  medicine  man  '  rose  from  his  seat 
and  began  to  cry  out,  *  Kill  the  soldiers,  their  bul 
lets  will  not  have  any  effect  upon  our  ghost  shirts,' 
at  the  same  time  stooping  to  the  ground,  picking  up 
handfuls  of  dirt,  throwing  it  up  in  the  air,  and,  after 
a  short  performance  of  perhaps  two  minutes,  he 
fired  his  gun  in  the  direction  of  the  military,  which 

STARTED  THE  WAR. 

started  the  war  that  resulted  in  the  killing  of  Cap 
tain  Wallace  and  twenty-five  soldiers,  wounding  thir 
ty-five  soldiers,  some  fatally,  and  the  killing  of  a 
large  number  of  Indians  known  as  the  Big  Foot 
band,  or  the  hostile  band  of  Sitting  Bull  Indians, 
who  escaped  from  the  police  and  military  at  Stand 
ing  Rock  Agency,  immediately  after  the  killing  of 
Sitting  Bull. 

"I  am  unable  at  this  time  to  give  the  exact  num 
ber  of  Indians  killed,  but  will  in  a  few  days  obtain 
some  knowledge  of  the  matter,  and  report  fully  to 


45  O  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

you  the  substance  qf  my  information.  The  Rev. 
Charles  S.  Cook,  Episcopal  minister  at  this  agency, 
is  kindly  allowing  his  church  to  be  used  to  shelter 
the  wounded  Indians.  He  has  thirty-eight  of  the 
number  in  his  church,  and  is  doing  a  missionary's 
part  to  see  that  they  are  properly  cared  for.  This 
battle  occurred  at  a  point  about  twenty  miles  north 
east  from  the  agency,  known  as  the  Wounded  Knee 
store,  recently  occupied  by  Prescott  ai'd  Robertson, 
on  the  morning  of  the  29th,  1890. 

"  I  am  informed  that  the  millitary  had  every  pre 
paration  made  to  feed  and  care  for  the  Indians,  and 
their  intention  was  to  take  them  to  Gordon,  Neb. 
(the  nearest  railroad  point),  but  the  attack,  which 
ended  practically  as  I  have  stated,  upset  all  plans. 

"  Lieutenant  Standing  Soldier,  who  was  for  a  long 
time  lieutenant  on  the  police  force  at  this  agency, 
but  now  employed  by  the  United  States  as  a  scout, 
on  the  night  of  the  3Oth  inst.  arrived  at  the  agency 
from  Porcupine  Creek  with  sixty-three  Indians  who 
belonged  to  the  Big  Foot  band,  consisting  of  eigh 
teen  men  and  the  balance  women  and  children. 
The  men  were  disarmed  after  their  arrival  at  the 
agency  by  the  scouts  and  agency  police,  and  placed 
under  millitary  guard.  lam  told  that  this  little  band 
are  some  that  became  lost  from  Big  Foot  during  the 
excitement  following  the  killing  of  Sitting  Bull  at 
Standing  Rock  Agency,  and  were  at  the  tirr.e  of  their 
capture  hunting  for  the  Big  Foot  band.  They  were 
not  informed  of  the  fight  until  after  they  were  safely 


BUFFALO  BILL 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  453 

under  guard,  and  then  only  in  a  mild  way,  that  they 
might  not  become  excited  over  the  loss  of  their  leader" 

A  ghastly  account  of  the  battle-ground  has  been 
given  by  Dr.  Charles  A.  Eastman,  of  Boston,  a  full 
blooded  Sioux,  who  visited  it  after  the  conflict.  He 
wrote  on  January  3  : 

"  On  Thursday  morning  I  visited  the  field  of  bat 
tle,  where  all  those  Indians  were  killed,  on  the 
Wounded  Knee,  last  Monday.  I  went  there  to  get 
the  wounded,  some  who  were  left  out.  The  soldiers 
brought  with  them  about  twenty-five,  and  I  found 
eleven  who  were  still  living.  Among  them  were  two 
babies,  about  three  months  old,  and  an  old  women 
who  is  totally  blind,  who  was  left  for  dead.  Four 
of  them  were  found  out  in  a  field  in  the  storm,  which 
was  very  severe.  They  were  half  buried  in  the 

TERRIBLE  AND  HORRIBLE  SIGHT 

snow.  It  was  a  terrible  and  horrible  sight  to  see 
women  and  children  lying  in  groups,  dead.  I  sup 
pose  they  were  of  one  family.  Some  of  the  young 
girls  wrapped  their  heads  with  shawls  and  buried 
their  faces  in  their  hands.  I  suppose  they  did  that 
so  that  they  would  not  see  the  soldiers  come  up  to 
shoot  them.  At  one  place  there  were  two  little 
children,  one  about  one  year  old,  the  other  about 
three,  lying  on  their  faces,  dead,  and  about  30  yards 
from  them  a  women  lay  on  her  face,  dead.  These 
were  away  from  the  camp  about  an  eighth  of  a  mile. 
"  In  front  of  the  tents,  which  were  in  a  semi-circle, 
lay  dead  most  of  the  men.  This  was  right  by  one  of 


454  LIFE  °-F  BITTING  BULL 

the  soldiers'  tents.  Those  who  were  still  living  told 
me  that  that  was  where  the  Indians  were  ordered  to 
hold  a  council  with  the  soldiers.  The  accounts  of 
the  battle  by  the  Indians  were  simple,  and  confirmed 
one  another,  that  the  soldiers  ordered  them  to  go 
into  camp,  for  they  were  moving  them,  and  told 
them  that  they  would  give  them  provisions.  Having 

TO  GIVE  UP  THEIR  ARMS, 

done  this  they  (the  Indians)  were  asked  to  give  up 
their  arms,  which    was  complied    with  by  most  of 
them,  in   fact   all  the    old  men,    but  many   of  the 
younger  men   did   not  comply,  because  they  either 
had  no  arms   or  concealed  them  in  their  blankets. 
Then  a  order  was  given  to  search  their  persons  and 
their  tents  as  well,  and  when  a  search  was  made  of 
a  wretch  of  an  Indian,  who  was  known  as  Good-for- 
Nothing,  he  fired  the  first  shot,  and  killed  one  of  the 
soldiers.     They  fired  upon  the  Indians  instantane 
ously.     Shells  were  thrown  among  the  women  and 
children,  so  that  they  mutilated  them  most  horribly. 
I  tried  to  go  to  the  field   the  next  day,  with   some 
Indians,  but  I  was  not  allowed  to.     I  think  it  was  a 
wise  thing  not  to  go  so  early.     Even  Thursday  I 
thought  I    would  be  shot.     Some    of  the   Indians 
(friendly)   found  their  relations  lying  dead.     They 
waited  and  began  to  put  out  their  guns.     My  friend, 
Louis  De  Coteau,  was  with  me,  but  left  me  when 
they  acted  in  this  manner.     Before  he  left  me  the 
hostiles   appeared.      We  did   not   take   in   all   the 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  455 

wounded.  Those  we  could  not  carry  away  we  left 
in  a  log  house  and  gave  them  food." 

A  little  Indian  baby  girl  about  three  months  old, 
one  of  the  survivors  of  the  battle  of  Wounded  Knee, 
who  lay  for  three  days  beside  the  dead  body  of  its 
mother,  was  adopted  by  Mrs.  Allison  Nailor,  a 
wealthy  lady  of  Washington.  Major  John  Burke, 
manager  of  Buffalo  Bill's  Wild  West  Combination, 
stood  as  god-father  to  the  child,  and  had  it  christened 
Maggie  C.  Nailor,  the  first  name  and  initial  being 
those  of  the  child's  rrew  found  benefactress. 

Miss  Elaine  Goodale,  the  poet,  who  had  devoted 
some  years  to  educational  work  among  the  Indians, 
made  this  report  to  the  Commissioner  of  Indian 
affairs,  concerning  the  battle  at  Wounded  Knee : 

"I  was  not  an  eye-witness  of  the  fight  and  my  in 
formation  has  been  obtained  chiefly  from  Indian 
prisoners  who  engaged  in  it  and  half-breeds  who 
were  present,  and  from  parties  who  visited  the 
battlefield  several  days  after  the  encounter. 

1  'The  testimony  of  the  survivors  of  Big  Foot's 
band  is  unanimous  on  one  important  point,  namelyy 
that  the  Indians  did  not  deliberately  plan  a  resis- 

NOT  A  WAR  PARTY 

tance.  The  party  was  not  a  war  party,  according  to 
their  statements  (which  I  believe  to  be  true),  but  a 
party  intending  to  visit  the  agency  at  the  invitation 
of  Red  Cloud. 

"The  Indians  say  that  many  of  the  men  were  un 
armed.  When  they  met  the  troops  they  anticipated 


456  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

no  trouble.  There  was  constant  friendly  intercourse 
between  the  soldiers  and  the  Indians,  even  women 
shaking  hands  with  the  officers  and  men.  The  de 
mand  for  their  arms  was  a  surprise  to  the  Indians, 
but  the  great  majority  of  them  chose  to  submit 
quietly.  The  tepees  had  already  been  searched 
and  a  large  number  of  guns,  knives  and  hatchets  con 
fiscated  when  the  searching  of  the  persons  of  the 
men  was  begun.  The  women  say  that  they  too 
were  searched  and  their  knives  (which  they  always 
carry  for  domestic  purposes)  taken  from  them.  A 
number  of  the  men  had  surrendered  their  rifles  and 
cartridge-belts  when  one  young  man  (who  is  des 
cribed  by  the  Indians  as  a  good-for-nothing  young 
fellow)  fired  a  single  shot.  This  called  forth  a 
volley  from  the  troops  and  the  firing  and  confusion 
became  general. 

I  do  not  credit  the  statement  which  has  been  made 
by  some  that  the  women  carried  arms  and  participa 
ted  actively  in  the  fight.  The  weight  of  testimony 
is  overwhelmingly  against  this  supposition.  There 
may  have  been  one  or  two  isolated  cases  of  this 
kind,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  great  majority 
of  the  women  and  children,  as  well  as  many  unarm 
ed  men  and  youths,  had  no  thought  of  anything  but 
flight,  They  were  pursued  up  the  ravines,  and  shot 

SHOT  DOWN  INDISCRIMINATELY. 

down  indiscriminately  by  the  soldiers. 

It  is  reported  that  one  of  the  officers  called  out, 
"  Don't  shoot  the  squaws,"  but  the  men  were  doubt- 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR. 

• 

less  too  much  excited  to  obey.  The  killing1  of  the 
women  and  children  was  in  part  unavoidable,  owing 
to  the  confusion,  but  I  think  there  is  no  doubt  that  it 
was  in  many  cases  deliberate  and  intentional.  The 
7th  Cavalry,  Caster's  old  command,  had  an  old 
grudge  to  repay. 

The  party  of  scouts  who  buried  the  dead,  report 
sixty-four  bodies  of  men  and  boys,  forty- four  of 
•women  and  eighteen  of  young  children.  Some  were 
carried  off  by  the  hostiles.  A  number1  of  prisoners, 
chiefly  women,  have  since  died  of  their  wounds,  and 
more  will  soon  follow.  The  party  who  visited  the 
battlefield  on  January  ist,  to  rescue  any  wounded 
who  m'ght  have  been  abandoned,  and  brought  in 
seven,  report  that  nearly  all  the  bodies  of  the  men 
were  lying  close  about  Big  Foot's  Sibley  tent  while 
the  women  and  children  were  scattered  along  a  dis 
tance  of  two  miles  from  the  scene  of  the  encounter 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

FATHER  CRAFT  AND  HIS  WORK. 

A  DEVOTED  PRIEST — DESCENDANT  OF  A  SENECA  CHIEF  AND  SUCCESSOR 
OF  SPOTTED  TAIL  AS  CHIEF  OF  THE  BRULES — His  INTERVIEW  WITH 
RED  CLOUD — ARRAIGNMENT  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT. 

Among  those  who  were  seriously  wounded  in  the 
fight  was  the  Rev.  Francis  J.  M.  Craft,  a  Roman 
Catholic  clergyman.  He  was  born  in  1854,  in  New 
York  City,  where  his  father,  Dr.  Francis  Craft,  was 
a  leading  physician.  Father  Craft  received  his 
early  education  in  the  public  schools,  and  then  stud 
ied  medicine  at  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur 
geons.  He  was  graduated  with  honors,  but  poor 
health  prevented  him  from  practicing.  Then  he 
turned  his  mind  toward  theology,  and  abandoning 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  in  which  he  had 
been  reared,  he  became  a  Catholic.  He  entered 
the  Theological  Seminary  at  Troy,  and  was  ordained 
there  in  1878. 

Father  Craft  is  directly  descended  from  one  of 
the  greatest  Seneca  Indian  chiefs,  and  recently  the 
Seneca  Indians  of  New  York  State 

MADE  HIM  A  CHIEF, 

and  the  historical  badge  of  the  tribe,  made  of  silver, 
458 


AND    THE   INDIAN   WAR.  459 

and  supposed  to  be  three  hundred  years  old,  was 
presented  to  Father  Craft.  His  natural  inclination 
was  to  help  the  Indians,  and  he  chose  missionary 
work  among  the  Western  tribes  as  his  field  of  labor. 

For  eleven  years  the  priest  labored  among  the 
Sioux  at  Pine  Ridge,  Standing  Rock,  and  Rosebud 
Agencies.  He  has  been  instrumental  in  establish 
ing  schools  for  the  Indian  children  and  a  house  for 
the  Sisters  of  Chanty,  of  whom  many  are  native  In 
dian  women.  Father  Craft  also  lent  all  his  energies 
toward  a  peaceful  settlement  of  all  difficulties,  and 
tried  in  every  way  to  prevent  the  Indians  from  be 
coming  contaminated  by  their  association  with  bad 
white  people. 

He  was  made  chief  of  the  Brule  band  of  Sioux  by 
the  dying  decree  of  Chief  Spotted  Tail,  who,  accord 
ing  to  the  Indian  custom,  had  the  right  to  transfer 
the  chieftainship  to  any  one  he  might  name.  Spotted 
Tail's  words  were:  u  Let  the  first  black  robe  that 
comes  among  you  be  my  successor." 

Father  Craft  was  the  first  to  come,  and  he  arrived 
in  time  for  Spotted  Tail  to  sign  his  name  to  the 
paper  making  Father  Craft  chief.  This  Spotted 
Tail  did 

IN  HIS  OWN  BLOOD, 

pricking  a  vein  in  his  arm  for  the  purpose.  Father 
Craft  then  obtained  a  drop  of  his  own  blood  in  the 
same  manner  and  signed  his  name.  This  made  the 

o 

compact  sacred  and  sealed  the  Father  as  Spotted 
Tail's  successor  after  the  Indian  custom.  Father 


460  LIFE   OF  SITTING   BULL 

Craft  afterward,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  number 
of  the  tribe,  consecrated  it  to  the  Sacred  Heart. 

In  the  summer  of  1890,  Father  Craft's  horse 
fell  upon  him  and  so  disabled  him  that  he  was 
granted  a  leave  of  absence.  He  came  to  New 
York  and  spent  his  time  mostly  in  the  examina 
tion,  with  Gen.  O'Beirne,  of  the  Indians  returning 
from  the  shows  in  Europe.  At  the  request  of 
friends  he  proceeded  to  Washington  to  consult 
with  Gen.  Schofield,  Secretary  Proctor,  and  Gen. 
Miles  on  the.  occasion  of  Gen.  Miles'  visit  to  the 
capital.  He  intended  to  return  to  New  York,  but 
instead  of  doing  so  he  set  out  hastily  for  the  scene 
of  the  Indian  disturbances. 

From  Rosebud  he  wrote  to  the  War  Department 
that 

EVERYTHING  WAS  QUIET. 

He  then  proceeded  quietly  to  Pine  Ridge,  where  he 
took  part  in  the  discussion  of  affairs.  He  it  was 
who  advised  that  Indians  be  sent  out  to  the  Bad 
Lands  after  the  braves  who  were  still  out. 

In  his  work  among  the  Indians,  Father  Craft  had 
many  bitter  opponents,  and  his  life  was  often  threat 
ened.  But  he  was  a  formidable  opponent.  He  was 
one  of  the  best  shots  with  rifle  or  revolver  in  all  the 
country,  and  on  several  occasions  when  men  wanted 
to  fight  him  he  satisfied  them  amply  by  drawing  his 
revolver  and  with  unerring  aim 

PLANTING  BULLET  AFTER  BULLET 

in  chips  that  were  floating  far  out  in  the  river.    Just 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR.  461 

before  the  battle  at  Wounded  Knee  Father  Craft 
had  the  following  interesting  interview  with  old  Red 
Cloud  : 

He  asked  the  chief: 

"  What,  in  your  opinion,  is  the  cause  of  the  trouble 
among  the  Indians  ?" 

"  Everybody  seems  to  think  that  the  belief  in  the 
coming  of  the  Messiah  has  caused  all  the  trouble. 
This  is  a  mistake.  I  will  tell  you  the  cause. 

"  When  we  first  made  treaties  with  the  Govern 
ment,  this  was  our  position  :  Our  old  life  and  our 
old  customs  were  about  to  end ;  the  game  upon 
which  we  lived  was  disappearing  ;  the  white?  were 
closing  around  us,  and  nothing  remained  for  us  but 

O  C5 

to  adopt  their  ways  and  have  the  same  rights  with 
them  if  we  wished  to  save  ourselves.  The  Govern 
ment  promised  us  all  the  means  necessary  to  make 
our  living  out  of  our  land,  and  to  instruct  us  how 
to  do  it,  and  abundant  food  to  support  us  until  we 
could  take  care  of  ourselves.  We  looked  forward 
with  hope  to  the  time  when  we  could  be 

AS  INDEPENDENT  AS  THE  WHITES, 

and  have  a  voice  in  the  Government. 

"The  officers  of  the  army  could  have  helped  us 
better  than  any  others,  but  we  were  not  left  to  them. 
An  Indian  Department  was  made,  with  a  large  num 
ber  of  agents  and  other  officials  drawing  large  sal 
aries,  and  these  men  were  supposed  to  teach  us  the 
ways  of  the  whites.  Then  came  the  beginning  of 
trouble.  These  men  took  care  of  themselves  but 


462  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

not  of  us.  It  was  made  very  hard  for  us  to  deal 
with  the  Government  except  through  them.  It 
seems  to  me  that  they  thought  they  could  make 
more  by  keeping  us  back  than  by  helping  us  for 
ward.  We  did  not  get  the  means  to  work  our  land. 
The  few  things  given  were  given  in  such  a  way  as 
to  do  us  little  or  no  good.  Our  rations  began  to 
be  reduced.  Some  said  that  we  were  lazy  and 
wanted  to  live  on  rations,  and  not  to  work.  That 
is  false.  How  does  any  man  of  sense  suppose  that 
so  great  a  number  of  people  could  get  to  work  at 
once,  unless  they  were  at  once  supplied  with  means 
to  work,  and  instructors  enough  to  teach  them  how 
to  use  them? 

"  Remember  that  even  our  little  ponies  were 
taken  away  under  the  promise  that  they  would  be 
replaced  by  oxen  and  large  horses,  and  that  it  was 
long  before  we  saw  any,  and  then  we  got  very  few. 
We  tried,  even  with  the  means  we  had,  but  on  one 
pretext  or  another  we  were  shifted  from  place  to 
place  or  were  told  that  such  a  transfer  was  coming. 
Great  efforts  were  made 

TO  BREAK  UP  OUR  CUSTOMS, 

but  nothing  was  done  to  introduce  the  customs  of 
the  whites.  Everything  was  done  to  break  the 
power  of  the  real  chiefs,  who  really  wished  their 
people  to  improve,  and  little  men,  so-called  chiefs, 
were  made  to  act  as  disturbers  and  agitators. 
Spotted  Tail  wanted  the  ways  of  the  whites,  and  a 
cowardly  assassin  was  found  to  remove  him.  This 


AND    THE   INDIAN   WAR.  463 

was  charged  upon  the  Indians,  because  an  Indian 
did  it,  but  who  set  on  the  Indian  ? 

"  I  was  abused  and  slandered,  to  weaken  my  in 
fluence  for  good  and  make  me  seem  like  one  who 
did  not  want  to  advance.  This  was  done  by  the 
men  paid  by  the  Government  to  teach  us  the  ways 
of  the  whites.  I  have  visited  many  other  tribes, 
and  find  that  the  same  things  were  done  among 
them.  All  was  done  to  discourage  and  nothing  to 
encourage.  I  saw  the  men  paid  by  the  Government 
to  help  us  all  very  busy  making  money  for  them 
selves,  but  doing  nothing  for  us. 

"  Now,  don't  you  suppose  we  saw  all  this  ?  Of 
course  we  did,  but  what  could  we  do  ?  We  were 
prisoners,  not  in  the  hands  of  the  army,  but 

IN  THE  HANDS  OF  ROBBERS. 

Where  was  the  army  ?  Set  by  the  Government  to 
watch  us,  but  having  no  voice  in  setting  things 
right,  so  that  they  would  not  need  to  watch  us. 
They  could  not  speak  for  us,  though  we  wished  it 
very  much.  Those  who  held  us  pretended  to  be 
very  anxious  about  our  welfare,  and  said  our  con 
dition  was  a  great  mystery.  We  tried  to  speak 
and  clear  up  this  mystery,  but  were  laughed  at  and 
treated  as  children.  So  things  went  on  from  year  to 
year.  Other  treaties  were  made,  and  it  was  all  the 
same.  Rations  were  further  reduced,  and  we  were 
starving,  sufficient  food  not  given  us,  and  no  means 
to  get  food  from  the  land  were  provided.  Rations 


464  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

were  still   further  reduced.      A  family  got  for  two 
weeks  what  was  not  enough  for  one  week. 

"  What  did  we  eat  when  that  was  gone  ?  The 
people  were  desperate  from  starvation — they  had 
no  hope.  They  did  not  think  of  fighting.  What 
good  would  it  do  ?  They  might  die  like  men,  but 
what  would  the  women  and  children  do  ?  Some 
say  they  saw 

THE  SON  OF  GOD. 

All  did  not  see  Him.  I  did  not  see  Him.  If  He  had 
come  He  would  do  some  great  thing  as  He  did  be 
fore.  We  doubted  it,  because  we  saw  neither  Him 
nor  His  works.  Then  Gen.  Crook  came.  His 
words  sounded  well ;  but  how  could  we  know  that 
a  new  treaty  would  be  kept  any  better  than  the  old 
one  ?  For  that  reason  we  did  not  care  to  sign.  He 
promised  to  see  that  his  promises  would  be  kept 
He,  at  least,  had  never  lied  to  us.  His  words  gave 
the  people  hope.  They  signed.  They  hoped.  He 
died.  Their  hope  died  with  him.  Despair  came 
again.  The  people  were  counted,  and  wrongly 
counted.  Our  rations  were  again  reduced.  The 
white  men  seized  on  the  land  we  sold  them  through 
Gen.  Crook,  but  our  pay  was  as  distant  as  ever. 
The  man  who  counted  us  told  all  over  that  we  were 
feasting  and  wasting  food.  Where  did  he  see  this  ? 
"  How  can  we  eat  or  waste  what  we  have  not  ? 
We  felt  that  we  were 

MOCKED  IN  OUR  MISERY. 

We  had  no  newspapers,  and  no  one  to  speak  for 


AND    THE   INDIAN   WAR.  465 

us.  We  had  no  redress.  Our  rations  were  again 
reduced.  You  who  eat  three  times  each  day,  and 
see  your  children  well  and  happy  around  you,  can't 
understand  what  starving  Indians  feel.  We  were 
faint  with  hunger  and  maddened  by  despair.  We 
held  our  dying  children,  and  felt  their  little  bodies 
tremble  as  their  souls  went  out  and  left  only  a  dead 
weight  in  our  hands.  They  were  not  very  heavy, 
but  we  ourselves  were  very  faint,  and  the  dead 
weighed  us  down.  There  was  no  hope  on  earth, 
and  God  seemed  to  have  forgotten  us.  Some  one 
had  ao^ain  been  talking  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  said 

&  o 

He  had  come.  'Ihe  people  did  not  know  ;  they  did 
not  care.  They  snatched  at  the  hope.  They 
screamed  like  crazy  men  to  Him  for  mercy.  They 
caught  at  the  promises  they  heard  He  had  made. 

"  The  white  men  were  frightened,  and  called  for 
soldiers.  We  had  begged  for  life,  and  the  white 
men  thought  we  wanted  theirs.  We  heard  that  sol 
diers  were  coming.  We  did  not  fear.  We  hoped 
that  we  could  tell  them  our  troubles  and  get  help. 
A  white  man  said  the  soldiers 

MEANT  TO  KILL  US. 

We  did  not  believe  it,  but  some  were  frightened 
and  ran  away  to  the  Bad  Lands.  The  soldiers 
came.  They  said :  4  Don't  be  afraid  ;  we  come  to 
make  peace,  and  not  war.'  It  was  true.  They 
brought  us  food,  and  did  not  threaten  us.  If  the 
Messiah  lias  really  come,  it  must  be  in  this  way. 
The  people  prayed  for  life,  and  the  army  brought  it, 


466  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

The  Black  Robe,  Father  Jule,  went  to  the  Bad 
Lands  and  brought  in  some  Indians  to  talk  to  Gen. 
Brooke.  The  General  was  very  kind  to  them,  and 
quieted  their  fears,  and  was  a  real  friend.  He  sent 
out  Indians  to  call  in  the  other  Indians  from  the 
Bad  Lands.  I  sent  all  my  horses  and  all  my  young 
men  to  help  Gen.  Brooke 

SAVE  THE  INDIANS. 

Am  I  not  right  when  I  say  that  he  will  know  how  to 
settle  this  trouble  ?  He  has  settled  it. 

"The  Indian  Department  called  for  soldiers  to  shoot 
down  the  Indians  whom  it  had  starved  into  despair. 
Gen.  Brooke  said,  *  No,  what  have  they  done?  They 
are  dying.  They  must  live/  He  brought  us  food. 
He  gave  us  hope.  I  trust  to  him  now  to  see  that 
we  will  be  well  treated.  I  hope  that  the  despair 
that  he  has  driven  away  will  never  return  again.  If 
the  army  had  been  with  us  from  the  first  there  never 
would  have  been  any  trouble.  The  army  will,  I 
hope,  keep  us  safe  and  help  us  to  become  as  inde 
pendent  as  the  whites." 

"What  do  you  think  of  the  killing  of  Sitting 
Bull?" 

"  Sitting  Bull  was  nothing  but  what  the  white  men 
made  him.  He  was 

A  CONCEITED  MAN 

who  never  did  anything  great,  but  wanted  to  get 
into  notice,  and  white  men  who  had  something  to 
make  by  it,  encouraged  him  and  used  him.  When 
they  had  made  him  as  great  as  they  could  they  killed 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  467 

him  to  get  a  name  by  it.  The  fight  at  his  arrest 
would  have  been  made  for  any  one  arrested  in  the 
same  way.  If  he  was  a  little  man,  he  was  a  man, 
and  should  not  have  been  murdered  uselessly. 
What  is  worse,  many  good  men  were  killed  also. 
The  soldiers  came  in  time  to  prevent  more  murders, 
but  too  late  to  save  all.  If  the  army  had  wanted  to 
arrest  him  they  knew  how  to  do  it,  and  never  would 
have  done  it  in  that  way.  You  see  how  they  are 
doing  here.  The  agent  does  not  interfere  with  the 
army,  and  the  army  saves  lives  and  does  not  do 
anything  foolish.  No  Indian  wants  to  fight ;  they 
want  to  eat,  and  work,  and  live ;  and  as  the 
soldiers  are  peace-makers  there  will  be  no  trouble 
here. 

"  The  Indian  Department  has  almost  destroyed  us. 
Save  us  from  it.  Let  the  army  take  charge  of  us. 
We  know  it  can  help  us.  Let  it  manage  our  affairs 
in  its  own  way.  If  this  can  be  done  I  will  think 
that  all  this  late  trouble  has  been  only  a  storm  that 
broke  the  clouds.  Let  the  sun  shine  on  us  again. 
There  is  one  man  whom  we  named 

'  BIG-LONG-TRAVELER' 

(Gen.O'Beirne),  who  some  years  ago  helped  us  when 
we  were  in  trouble  and  were  about  to  starve.  He 
was  the  first  and  the  only  one  who  made  the  whites 
take  away  the  little  cattle  they  brought  to  cheat  us, 
and  made  them  bring  cattle  of  full  weight.  Ask 
him  to  tell  people  what  we  suffer  and  what  we  need. 
He  made  people  treat  us  well  once  while  he  war 


468  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

with  us.  I  wrote  to  him  to  come  here  again  whec 
we  were  in  trouble,  and  make  our  case  known.  He 
understands  it.  Get  him  to  help  keep  the  army  in 
charge  of  us." 

Father  Craft  also  wrote  a  letter  to  the  New  York 
Freeman  s  Journal r,  in  which  he  said  that  in  the  be 
ginning  the  Indians  hoped  for  much  aid  from  the 
Government  to  enable  them  to  become  like  white 
men.  They  were,  however,  in  every  way  abused, 
mocked,  and  discouraged.  Instead  of  being  wards, 
they  have  felt  they  were  the  victims  of  unscrupulous 
politicians,  who  benefited  by  their  misery. 

Father  Craft  continued :  "  I  know  what  I  say,  for 
I  have 

SHARED   THEIR   SUFFERINGS 

for  many  years.  In  their  despair  Gen.  Crook 
brought  them  hope.  Their  confidence  in  him  led 
them  to  hope  that  he  would  be  able  to  realize  their 
hopes.  His  death  was  their  death-blow,  and  they 
felt  it. 

"Indians  are  not  fools,  but  men  of  keen  intelli 
gence.  Reductions  in  rations  increased  these  fears. 
Even  Indian  agents  protested  against  such  cruelty. 
Mr.  Lee,  who  took  the  census,  made  grave  mis 
takes  ;  counted  less  than  the  real  numbers,  and 
made  false  reports  of  prosperity  that  did  not  exist. 
It  is  not  to  be  wondered  that  they  believed  in  a 
Messiah,  whom  they  at  first  doubted,  and  listened 
to  every  deceiver  who  promised  hope. 

"  Interested  whites  took  advantage  of  this  state 


AND   THE  IXDIAN  WAR.  471 

of  affairs  and  howled  for  troops.  The  army  indig 
nantly  protested  against  their  false  statements,  but 
had  to  go  to  the  scene  of  the  supposed  danger, 

"  Interested  whites  persuaded  them  that  their  en 
tire  destruction  was  aimed  at,  and  the  Indians  ran 
away  in  fear  and  despair.  Father  Jule  calmed  them, 
and  I  brought  them  back  to  the  agency,  and  the 

KINDNESS   OF   GEN.   BROOKE 

convinced  them  of  their  safety.  The  General's  plan 
to  send  Indians  after  those  still  out  was  good,  and 
would  have  succeeded  if  the  General  were  left  alone. 
"  Just  as  the  tree  can  be  traced  from  its  smallest 
branch  to  its  root,  so  can  the  Indian  troubles  be 
traced  to  starvation  and  misery  of  the  Indians." 


CHAPTER  XXXV, 


AFTER    THE    BATTLE. 


A  PROFOUND  SENSATION  CAUSED  —  VARYING  COMMENTS  AND 

—  ALARM  AT  PINE  RIDGE  —  LIST  OF  THE  TROOPS  IN  SERVICE— 
MURDER  OF  LIEUT.  CASEY  —  AGENT  ROYER  REMOVED—  RED  CLOUD'S 
FLIGHT  —  THE  CASE  OF  COL.  FORSYTHE. 

A  profound  sensation  was  caused  throughout  the 
whole  country  by  the  news  of  the  Battle  of  Wounded 
Knee,  and  the  most  extreme  comments  were  made 
on  both  sides.  Some  denounced  it  as  a  wicked 
massacre  of  red  men.  Others  hailed  it  as  a  piece 
of  righteous  punishment  inflicted  upon  incorrigible 
savages.  Its  effects  were  also  variously  estimated. 
It  was  by  many  thought  to  be  the  beginning  of  a 
long  and  bloody  war  of  extermination,  while  others 
believed  it  'would  end  all  the  troubles  and  insure 
immediate  and  lasting  peace.  As  is  usual,  the  truth 
lay  in  neither  of  these  extremes.  It  was  generally 
felt,  however,  that  the  military  authorities  now  had 
the  upper  hand,  and  that  henceforth  the  Indians 
would  be  kept  on  the  defensive. 

Credit  is  to  be  given  to  the  Indians  who  were 
472 


AND    THE   INDIAN    WAR.  473 

enlisted  as  scouts  and  "police  by  the  Government. 
They  were 

TRUE  AS  STEEJ 

and  did  their  duty  nobly.  Conspicuous  among 
them  were  No  Neck,  Yankton  Charlie,  Rocking 
Bear,  Long  Wolf,  and  Black  Heart.  The  chief  of 
the  scouts,  Frank  Gruard,  and  Little  Bat  also  did 
most  valuable  work. 

After  the  battle  Col.  Forsythe  went  into  camp  on 
Porcupine  Creek  near  the  scene  of  the  fight.  His 
position  was  not  a  safe  one,  and  reinforcements 
were  hurried  forward  to  his  relief.  No  further 
attack  was  made  upon  his  command,  however.  Big 
Foot's  band  had  been  practically  annihilated,  and  all 
other  hostile  Indians  in  that  part  of  the  country 
were  over-awed  by  their  fate. 

At  Pine  Ridge  Agency  the  news  of  the  battle 
created-great  excitement  and  alarm.  Pandemonium 
broke  loose  among  the  5,000  Indians  there,  and  a 
large  number  of  them  broke  away  and  fled  toward 
the  Bad  Lands,  while  many  others  joined  the  troops 
and 

PREPARED  FOR  DEFENSE 

against  the  hostiles.  Soon  sounds  of  war  were 
heard  about  the  agency.  A  friendly  Indian  village 
near  by  was  burned  by  the  hostiles.  The  settlers 
from  all  around  came  flocking  in.  All  the  women 
and  children  were  huddled  together  in  one  house 
and  guarded  by  the  infantry,  and  all  night  long 
every  one  at  the  agency  remained  awake  in  instant 


474  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

expectation  of  attack.  An  outbuilding  at  the 
Catholic  Mission  School  was  burned  by  mischievous 
Indians,  and  it  was  rumored  that  the  whole  school 
had  been  destroyed,  but  the  rumor  happily  proved 
unfounded. 

The  New  Year  did  not  open  peacefully.  New 
Year's  Day  saw  3,000  Indians,  600  of  whom  were 
fighting  men,  encamped  in  the  Bad  Lands  about 
fifteen  miles  from  the  Pine  Ridge  Agency.  They 
were  in  a  spot  greatly  resembling  the  famous  lava 
beds  of  California  where  the  Modocs  under  Captain 
Jack  made  their  last  stand.  It  was 

A  STRONG  SITUATION, 

but  the  troops  surrounded  it  on  all  sides  and  Gen. 
Miles  felt  sure  that  he  would  make  them  surrender 
without  a  struggle.  There  were  now  on  the  scene 
of  action  the  First,  Second,  Third,  Seventh,  Eighth, 
Twelfth,  Seventeenth,  Twenty-first,  and  Twenty- 
second  Regiments  of  Infantry,  and  the  First,  Second, 
Fifth,  Sixth,  Seventh,  Eighth,  and  Ninth  of  Cavalry, 
Battery  A  of  the  First  Artillery  and  Battery  F  of 
the  Fourth  Artillery. 

Red  Cloud  now  sent  in  a  letter,  claiming  that  he 
was  a  prisoner  and  begging  the  soldiers  to  come 
and  save  him  from  the  other  Indians  who  were 
determined  to  drag  him  into  the  war.  A  number  of 
his  followers  voluntarily  came  in  and  surrendered 
themselves,  and  promised  that  they  would  be  fol 
lowed  by  the  whole  band. 

Matters  remained  in  about  this  condition  for  sev- 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR.  475 

eral  days.  Foraging  parties  were  sent  out  to  cap 
ture  all  the  cattle  and  ponies  that  could  be  found, 
and  to  secure  hay  from  the  outlying  ranches  which 
had  been  deserted  by  the  settlers.  Hay  and  pro 
visions  were  very  scarce,  the  weather  was  severe, 
and  the  8,000  troops  were  by  no  means  in  a  com 
fortable  position.  On  January  25th  an  attempt  was 
made  by  the  Indians  to  move  to  the  northward,  and 
preparations  were  made  for  action,  but  no  serious 
trouble  ensued. 
Two  days  later 

ANOTHER  DEPLORABLE  TRAGEDY 

occurred.  Lieut.  Casey,  a  fine  officer  of  the  22d 
Infantry,  went  out  from  Gen.  Brooke's  camp  to  visit 
the  hostile  Indians  and,  if  possible,  induce  the  chiefs 
to  come  in  and  have  a  conference.  He  passed  a 
small  band  of  Ogallalas,  who  were  butchering  cat 
tle  and  who  appeared  to  be  friendly.  Two  of  them, 
however,  set  out  to  follow  him.  A  little  further  on 
he  met  Peter  Richards,  a  son-in-law  of  Red  Cloud, 
who  had  been  sent  by  the  latter  to  warn  him  not  to 
come  nearer  to  the  hostile  camp,  as  it  would  be 
dangerous  for  him  to  do  so.  Lieut.  Casey  said  that 
he  would  at  least  go  on  a  little  further,  to  the  top 
of  a  small  hill,  whence  he  could  get  a  view  of  the 
hostile  camp.  Richards  tried  to  dissuade  him  from 
even  this.  While  the  two  were  talking  there  was  a 
shot,  and  Casey  fell  from  his  horse  dead, 

SHOT  THROUGH  THE  BRAIN. 

The  shot  was  fired  by  one  of  the  two  Ogallalas  who 


476  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

had  been  following  Casey.  Richards  would  have 
shot  the  murderer,  but  was  himself  unarmed.  When 
news  of  the  murder  was  brought  to  the  camp,  Gen. 
Brooke  sent  out  a  detachment  to  recover  Casey's 
body,  which  was  found  stripped  but  not  mutilated. 
Lieut.  Casey  was  about  forty  years  old,  and  had 
been  in  command  of  a  troop  of  Cheyenne  scouts  for 
about  a  year.  He  was  earnestly  devoted  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  Indians,  and  his  death  was 
greatly  lamented  by  both  Indians  and  his  army  com 
rades. 

A  decided  change. in  the  situation  was  effected  on 

o 

January  8th.  At  this  date  the  Secretary  of  the  In 
terior  dismissed  Mr.  Royer  from  the  agency  at  Pine 
Ridge,  and  placed  Capt.  Pierce,  of  the  ist  Infantry, 
temporarily  in  command.  At  the  same  time,  the 
Pine  Ridge,  Rosebud,  Standing  Rock,  Cheyenne 
River,  and  Tongue  River  reservations  were  placed 
temporarily 

UNDER  MILITARY  CONTROL, 

with  Gen.  Miles  in  supreme  command.  Mr.  Royer 
was  removed  because,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Indian 
Office,  he  was  not  equal  to  the  emergency.  In  or 
dinary  times  he  had  performed  his  duties  well,  but 
in  time  of  war  he  was  lacking  in  nerve. 

The  general  situation  was  summed  up  by  the  In 
dian  Office  at  this  date  as  follows:  There  were  in 
all  about  20,000  Sioux  Indians  on  the  northern  res 
ervations.  Of  these,  16,500  were  living  in  peace. 
This  left  about  3,500  men,  women,  and  children 


AND    THE   INDIAN   WAR.  477 

more  or  less  hostile,  and  to  deal  with  them  Gen. 
Miles  had  8,000  well-equipped  soldiers. 

After  the  murder  of  Lieut.  Casey,  Red  Cloud  be 
came  panic-stricken  and  fled  to  the  agency  for  pro 
tection  from  his  fellow-Indians.  His  escape  from 
them,  according  to  his  own  story,  was  a  narrow  one. 
His  son  Jack  had  to 

SMUGGLE  HIM  OUT  OF  CAMP, 

and  then  his  daughter  took  him  by  the  hand  and  led 
him  through  the  snow  and  on  foot  across  eighteen 
miles  of  wretched  country  to  the  agency.  He  was 
nearly  blind,  and  without  his  daughter  would  cer 
tainly  have  lost  his  way  and  perished  in  the  blizzard 
that  was  then  raging.  Twice  during  the  flight  they 
were  fired  upon  by  Indians,  and  had  to  lie  down  and 
burrow  in  the  snow  to  escape  the  bullets.  Young 
Red  Cloud  also  came  into  the  agency,  bringing  with 
him  one  of  Lieut.  Casey's  revolvers  which  had  been 
stolen  by  his  murderer. 

Col.  Forsythe  was  much  criticised  for  his  man 
agement  of  the  battle  at  Wounded  Knee,  and  was 
relieved  from  the  command  and  an  inquiry  was  or 
dered.  It  was  said  that  the  troops  were  so  placed 
that  in  the  firing  many  of  the  men  were  killed  by 
their  own  comrades.  The  testimony  of  the  officers 
and  men,  however,  was  unanimously  in  his  favor, 
and  he  was 

HONORABLY  ACQUITTED 

by   the   investigating   committee.      Gen.   Schofield 


478  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

thus  explained  the  reason  for  Col.  Forsythe's  sus1 
pension: 

"It  had  been  suggested,  by  a  person  whom  I  can 
not  mention,  that  it  would  be  well  to  look  into  the 
matter  of  the  fight  on  Wounded  Knee  Creek  the 
other  day,  inasmuch  as  the  reports  state  that  sev 
eral  Indian  women  and  children  were  killed.  Ac 
cordingly,  Gen.  Miles,  at  a  suggestion  from  here, 
relieved  Col.  Forsythe  of  his  command,  pending  an 
investigation  of  the  circumstances  of  that  fight, 
which  investigation  is  probably  now  being  conducted 
by  Gen.  Miles." 

One  officer  remarked :  "  It  is  preposterous  to  say 
that  it  is  necessary  in  an  Indian  skirmish  to  stop 
firing  long  enough  to  find  out  just  what  sort  of  an 
Indian  you  are  shooting  at.  The  women  and  the 
men  look  very  much  alike  in  their  blanket  costume, 
and  the  former  are  quite 

AS  FIERCE  FIGHTERS  AS  THE  MEN. 

A  Sioux  squaw  is  as  bad  an  enemy  as  a  buck  at 
times.  The  little  boys,  too,  can  shoot  quite  well  as 
their  fathers.'* 

An  officer  of  the  7th  Cavalry  said  :  "  The  story 
that  the  men  shot  down  women  and  children  is  a  lie. 
The  fact  is,  nothing  was  left  undone  to  save  them. 
I  heard  many  men  cry  out,  '  Don't  shoot!  that's  a 
woman  !'  The  people  who  killed  women  and  chil 
dren  were  the  Indians  themselves/' 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

DOUBT  AND  FEAR. 

LOSING  FAITH  IN  INDIAN  PROMISES— STRANGE  SCENES  IN  CHURCH— A 
WAGON  TRAIN  ATTACKED— A  MIDNIGHT  Pow-wow— Two  DARE 
DEVIL  BRULES — THE  FORTIFICATIONS — AN  UNEXPECTED  ADVANCE — 
MUCH  TALK  BUT  LITTLE  ACTION. 

So  the  campaign  at  Pine  Ridge  dragged  its  way 
along  in  doubt  and  uncertainty.  Every  morning 
brought  reports  that  the  Indians  were  coming  in  to 
give  themselves  up,  but  every  evening  saw  the 
promise  unfulfilled.  They  were  coming.  But  in 
such  matters  time  is  an  element  which  does  not 
concern  the  Indian.  So  many  times,  indeed,  did  he 
promise  to  come  in  without  keeping  the  promise 
that  no  man  could  tell  when  the  final  entry  would  be 
made.  A  correspondent  one  day  had  an  interview 
with  Father  Jule.  He  is  the  Jesuit  missionary  who 
induced  the  Indians  to  promise  to  come  in  just  before 
the  battle  of  Wounded  Knee.  They  were  on  the 
point  of  keeping  the  promise  when  the  news  of  the 
engagement  sent  them  flying  back  in  fear.  Said 
that  gentleman 


480  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

"  I  have  so  often  heard  that  the  Indians  are  com- 

BELIEVE  THEM  NG  MORE. 

ing  in  only  to  be  mistaken,  that  1  shall  believe  them 
no  more  until  I  see  them. 

Father  Jule  was  almost  the  only  man  at  the 
agency  who  paid  much  attention  to  religious  duties. 
Besides  his  church  and  school  there  were  two 
churches— The  Presbyterian,  the  pastor  of  which 
was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sterling,  and  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  Episcopal,  the  rector  being  the  Rev. 
C.  S.  Cook.  In  the  Government  school,  religious 
services  were  neld  generally  by  the  Catholics.  In 
the  first  mentioned  there  was  no  service  on  January 
n,  wrote  a  correspondent;  the  windows  were 
barred  and  to  the  west  was  stationed  aline  of  breast 
works,  and  adjacent  were  several  tents  of  infantry 
soldiers  ;  in  the  Episcopal  church  fifteen  wounded 

AT  THE  POINT  OF  DEATH. 

women  and  children  lay,  some  at  the  point  of  death 
and  all  in  pain,  the  result  of  the  fight  on  Wounded 
Knee.  The  pews  had  been  torn  from  their  places 
and  on  either  side  of  what  had  been  the  main  aisle 
were  beds  of  loose  hay  on  which  lay  the  unfortu 
nates.  The  sanctuary  was  given  up  to  the  groaning 
little  ones,  while  in  the  choir  three  hostiles  moaned 
in  misery.  On  the  lectern  were  rolls  of  bandages, 
pieces  of  lint  and  cloth  which  had  served  to  stanch 
the  flow  of  blood  from  the  wounded  victims.  This 
lectern  was  presented  to  the  church  by  Calvary 
church  of  New  York,  and  at  it  had  officiated  the 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  48  I 

Rev.  A.  L.  Southard,  the  Rev.  F.  L.  Hawks,  the 
Rev.  Cleveland  Coxe  and  the  Rev.  E.  A.  Washburn. 
Neither  of  these  worthy  men,  nor  those  who  suc 
ceeded  them  doubtless  ever  imagined  that  this  would 
be  one  of  the  uses  to  which  the  desk  should  be  put 
in  this  distant  country.  The  little  church  was  of 
Gothic  design  and  was  beautifully  hung  with  ever 
greens,  reminiscent  of  the  Christmastide — the  period 
of  peace  and  of  good-will,  which  was  made  memor 
able  there  by  the  blood  spilled.  In  the  school  Father 
Jule  said  mass  and  delivered  a  short  sermon.  One- 
half  of  the  worshippers  were  Indians,  among  whom 
was  Red  Cloud.  The  old  chief  knelt  and  rose  up, 
made  his  genuflexions  and  crossed  himself  like  the 
others  present.  Throughout  he  held  an  English 
prayer-book,  which,  however,  he  was  unable  to  read. 
He  devoted  his  attention  to  the  pictures  of  the  sev 
eral  parts  of  the  mass,  many  of  which  he  could 
scarcely  distinguish  because  of  his  failing  sight. 

The  party  sent  to  Wounded  Knee  to  bury  the 
dead  Indians  found  and  buried  eighty-four  bucks 
and  sixty-three  squaws  and  children.  It  was  also 
found  that  five  had  been  buried  by  the  Indians.  In 
addition  to  this  total  of  152,  others,  who  had  been 
carried  away  by  hostile  scouts,  etc.,  were  heard  of, 
sufficient  to  swell  the  number  of  dead  Indians,  as  a 
result  of  the  battle  of  Wounded  Knee,  to  fully  200. 

Another  conflict  occurred  near  Wounded  Knee  on 
January  5.  As  a  number  of  wagons  with  supplies 
were  known  to  be  coming  thither  on  the  road  from 


482  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL.. 

Rapid  City,  it  was  thought  best  to  send  out  a  de 
tachment  to  protect  them.  So  thirty  men  were 
picked,  and  immediately  started  down  the  road. 
They  had  not  gone  over  ten  miles  when  they  dis 
covered  the  wagons,  thirteen  in  number,  drawn  up 

ATTACKED   bY  A   BAND. 

in  the  form  of  a  square,  and  being  attacked  by  a 
band  of  about  tifty  Indians.  The  detachment  put 
their  horses  to  a  full  gallop,  whereupon  the  Indians 
withdrew  to  an  adjoining  hill.  The  detachment  now 
joined  che  teamsters,  who  numbered  only  nineteen. 
Sacks  oi  £rain,  bundles  and  boxes  were  thrown  up 
in  front  oi  che  besieged  men  as  breastworks.  The  In 
dians  noticing  chis  immediately  returned  and  began  an 
attack,  circling  around  the  wagons,  but  keeping  at  a 
distance  of  3oo  yards.  As  a  result  the  shots  from 
their  Winchesters  were  not  effective,  often  falling 
short  ot  the  mark.  The  carbines  of  the  soldiers 
were  used  with  much  more  effect,  a  number  of  Indi 
ans  being  seen  to  fall  from  their  horses. 

Meantime  che  band  was  augmented  until  it  num 
bered  some  100  warriors  in  all,  besides  some  who 
had  been  posted  off  in  the  adjoining  hills,  One 
soldier  at  che  beginning  of  the  fight,  while  arranging 
the  breastworks,  was  shot  in  the  shoulder,  but  not 
seriously  wounded.  A  soldier  was  detailed  to  re- 

UESILGED   BY  THE  INDIANS. 

turn  to  camp  and  report  that  the  detachment  was 
besieged  by  the  Indians.  He  selected  a  fast  horse 
and  made  a  break  at  an  opportune  moment,  the  at- 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  483 

tention  of  the  Indians  being  attracted  to  movements 
made  on  the  other  side.     As  soon  as  the  object  of 
the  ruse  was  seen  about  twenty  Indians  gave  chase 
to  Private  Collins,  and  fired  shot  after  shot  at  him, 
but  as  he  had  a  fast  horse  he  soon  distanced  them. 

They  then  returned  with  the  others  to  the  attack. 
Three  more  Indians  were  seen  to  fall  from  their 
horses,  and  were  picked  up  and  carried  away  by 
their  companions.  Four  cavalry  horses  were  shot 
and  killed,  as  were  a  large  number  of  Indian  ponies. 

While  the  large  body  of  Indians  was  being  en 
gaged  by  the  majority  of  the  soldiers  and  citizens,  a 
few  Indians  scattered  about,  dismounted,  and,  set 
ting  as  close  as  possible,  began  firing  into  the 

TRYING  TO  STAMPEDE  THEM. 

horses,  trying  to  stampede  them.  Had  not  some  of 
the  soldiers  been  holding  and  guarding  the  horses 
the  Indians  would  undoubtedly  have  succeeded 
in  obtaining  their  object.  By  this  time  things  were 
getting  pretty  hot  for  the  besieged  party,  and  bul 
lets  were  flying  as  thick  as  hailstones,  and  it  was  hard 
to  distinguish  the  Indians  through  the  smoke.  The 
citizens  had  been  fighting  them  for  six  hours,  and 
the  soldiers  about  three  hours.  A  little  before  2 
p  m.  a  commotion  was  seen  among  the  Indians,  and 
they  gradually  retreated,  when  it  was  seen  that 
troops  were  coming  in  full  charge  to  the  rescue. 
Every  one  gave  three  resounding  cheers  as  the 
troops  rode  up,  and  the  Indians  scattered  in  all  di 
rections,  Troop  F,  giving  chase.  They  were  pursued 


484  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL. 

until  near  nightfall,  when  the  chase  was  abandoned, 
the  wagon  train  and  every  one  returning  to  camp, 
bringing  the  dead  Indians  and  some  ponies  with 
them. 

There  was  a  big  pow-wow  in  the  hostile  camp  on 

A  BIG  POW-WOW. 

January  9th.  It  was  a  starlight  night,  and  the  red 
skins  stood  or  squatted  in  a  great  circle  around  the 
council  fire.  Many  of  the  Ogalallas,  led  by  Little 
Wound  and  Big  Road,  made  speeches  urging  sur 
render,  but  the  young  dare-devils  were  still  obstinate. 
After  wrangling  and  fighting  they  finally  agreed  to 
move  on  the  agency  next  day  and  to  go  into  camp 
on  the  White  Clay  Creek,  five  miles  from  Pine 
Ridge,  and  near  the  Catholic  Mission.  This  was  the 
story  told  by  Young-Man-Afraid-of-his-Horses.  Next 
morning  two  young  Brules  dashed  up  to  the  agency 
buildings.  They  had  just  come  from  the  hostile 
camp.  One  fellow  had  a  streak  of  blue  paint  across 
his  nose.  Both  were  in  white  shirts.  They  leaped 
nimbly  off  their  ponies  and  bolted  through  the  crowd 
to  General  Miles's  headquarters,  dragging  their 
rifles  behind  them.  The  leggings  of  the  leader  had 
the  zodiac  worked  upon  them  in  beads.  Indian  po 
licemen  fell  upon  them  and  disarmed  them.  They 
then  said  they  wanted  to  see  General  Miles.  They 

MEANT  NO  HARM. 

were  escorted  to  headquarters,  where  they  were 
profuse  in  assurances  that  the  Brules  meant  no 
harm.  -  General  Miles  told  them  to  go  back  to  their 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  485 

camp  and  tell  their  people  to  surrender  without 
further  trouble.  Then  they  dashed  away,  laughing 
at  the  Indian  police.  These  daring  fellows  were 
not  20  years  old,  and  doubtless  came  to  the  agency 
on  some  mysterious  mission.  Their  boldness  simply 
showed  the  craziness  of  the  young  dare-devil 
Brules, 

General  Miles  telegraphed  on  January  i2th  that 
the  Indians  were  within  two  miles  of  the  Pine  Ridge 
Agency.  They  were  of  course  surrounded  by 
troops,  and  the  closer  in  they  came,  the  stronger 
the  encircling  cordon  was.  During  that  day  a  num 
ber  of  men  and  squaws  from  the  hostile  camp  ar 
rived  on  horseback  and  in  wagons,  in  all  stages  of 
dilapidation.  The  arrivals,  however,  were  not  as 
numerous  as  had  been  expected,  the  main  body  of 
Indians  still  remaining  near  the  mission.  As  the 
refugees  or  visitors  reached  the  outposts  they  were 
deprived  of  their  arms  by  the  guards.  The  wily 

ONLY  A  FEW  WEAPONS. 

hostiles,  however,  displayed  only  a  few  weapons, 
and  these  were  later  returned  to  them  when  the 
owners  went  back  to  the  hostile  camp.  It  is  not  at 
all  improbable  that  many  of  the  warriors  had  arms 
concealed  about  their  persons. 

The  announcement  that  a  large  number  of  the 
hostiles  had  at  length  arrived  within  gun-shot  of  the 
pickets  spread  with  rapidity  through  the  camp  of  the 
Indians.  Immediately  hundreds  of  squaws  and 
children  gathered  in  the  vicinity  of  headquarters, 


486  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

whence  a  view  of  the  bluffs,  beyond  which  the  hos- 
tiles  were  stationed,  could  be  obtained.  They  waited 
patiently  for  their  brothers,  lovers  and  husbands  to 
appear,  but  as  evening  drew  on  and  their  devotion 
was  not  rewarded  they  gradually  retired  to  their 
tepees. 

Colonel  Henry,  who  was  expected  with  his  four 
troops  of  the  gth  Cavalry  to  reach  the  agency  in 
company  with  Colonel  Wheaton  and  his  command, 
was  ordered  to  White  Clay  to  follow  General 
Brooke,  whose  headquarters  were  established  with 
Colonel  Sanford's  command.  The  latter  was  within 
a  few  miles  of  the  Indians,  and  would  press  them 
more  closely  unless  in  the  meantime  they  have  gone 
into  camp  within  the  agency.  Colonel  Sanford's 
command  comprised  of  one  troop  each  of  the  ist, 
2d  and  gth  Cavalry,  the  Cheyenne  Scouts,  formerly 
commanded  by  the  late  Lieutenant  Casey  and  now 
in  charge  of  Lieutenant  Getty,  and  Companies  A, 
C,  G  and  H  of  the  2d  Infantry.  Colonel  Wheaton 
was  about  eight  miles  west  of  the  agency  with  Com 
panies  B,  D,  E  and  F  of  the  2d. 

There  was  of  course  no  certainty  as  to  what  the 
Indians  would  do.  General  Miles  himself  was  in 
doubt  as  to  what  to  expect  of  them.  They  might. 
he  said,  get  to  within  gunshot  of  the  agency  and 

WITHIN  GUNSHOT  OF  THE  AGENCY.  ;    v|| 

then  break  away  to  the  camp  which  they  had  just 
abandoned.  Fear  of  all  kinds  of  punishment  seem 
ed  to  have  taken  possession  of  them,  and  it  was 


WHITE  THUNDER. 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  489 

generally  understood  that  one  injudicious  acton  the 
part  of  the  soldiers  or  the  mad  act  of  some  implaca 
ble  hostile  would  precipitate  a  fight,  the  consequen 
ces  of  which  could  scarcely  be  imagined.  Lieuten 
ant  Taylor,  of  the  Qth  Cavalry,  went  to  the  Indians 
with  a  couple  of  his  scouts  with  the  intention  of 
leading  them  at  the  proper  time  to  the  places  desig 
nated  for  their  camp  at  the  agency.  Where  they 
were  resting  the  ground  was  rolling,  and  offered  ad 
vantages  to  the  cavalry  which  were  denied  to  them  at 
Wounded  Knee.  They  were  virtually  surrounded  by 

SURROUNDED  BY  TROOPS. 

troops  and  in  a  disadvantageous  position,  and  revolt 
would  most  surely  have  resulted  disastrously  to  them. 
Major  Whiteside,  in  command  of  the  7th  Cavalry, 
had  his  men  ready  to  move  at  a  moment's  notice, 
and  could  reach  any  point  of  the  agency  within  five 
minutes.  The  same  was  true  of  Captain  Capron 
with  his  battery  and  Catling  guns,as  also  of  the 
ist  Infantry  under  Colonel  Shaftner.  The  latter 
had  about  300  men,  about  260  of  whom  were 
mounted,  ponies  for  this  purpose  having  been 
procured. 

The  fortifications  commanding  the  hostile  camp 
were  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  north  of  the 
agency.  They  occupied  several  prominent  bluffs 
and  commanded  the  valley,  which  was  nearly  two 
miles  wide  and  about  as  many  miles  in  length.  They 
were  guarded  by  a  Hotchkiss  gun,  which  had  a 
range  of  four  miles.  This  belonged  to  Captain 


490  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

Capron.  There  were  also  Companies  B  and  H,  of 
the  ist  Infantry.  Both  batteries  and  Infantry  were 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Dougherty.  At  the 
nothern  extremity  of  the  valley,  beyond  White  Clay 
Creek,  and  at  the  base  of  a  semi-circular,  pine-covered 
bluff,  the  hostiles  had  their  tents.  Their  village 
comprised  about  300  tepees,  with  about  800  Indians, 
who  seemed  to  be  well  supplied  with  ponies.  The 
view  was  picturesque  and  the  site  was  one  from 
which  the  Indians  might  easily  retire  were  they  not 
closely  followed  by  General  Brooke  and  his  com 
mand. 

Shortly  before  noon  of  January  12,  Frank  Gourard, 
who  had  been  to  the  hostile  camp,  arrived  and  an 
nounced  that  the  Indians  were  not  coming  in.  Up 
to  midday  the  chiefs  who  were  expected  to  hold  a 
big  talk  with  General  Miles,  had  not  made  their  ap 
pearance,  and  it  began  to  look  as  if  Gourard' s  report 
was  correct,  but  shortly  after  noon  it  was  discovered 

MADE  A  RAPID  ADVANCE. 

that  the  hostiles  had  made  a  rapid  advance.  Major 
Baker,  the  paymaster,  had  visited  the  fortifications 
to  pay  off  the  company,  and  all  of  the  men  were  in 
the  camp  a  hundred  yards  away  except  one,  who 
was  left  as  a  guard  near  the  guns.  Suddenly  two 
Indians  were  seen  on  the  crest  of  a  hill  but  a  short 
distance  beyond  the  other  pickets  ;  then  others  ap 
peared  on  the  hills  to  the  northwest ;  then  more 
than  a  dozen  were  seen  on  the  various  elevations, 
and  then  a  body  of  more  than  100  warriors  rose  to 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  49  l 

the  crest  of  the  hill  behind  which  the  hostiles  were. 
The  number  was  steadly  increased  to  400  by  acces 
sions  of  bands  ranging  in  numbers  from  five  to 
twenty-five.  Captain  Dougherty  was  immediately 
notified.  He  dispatched  a  courier  to  headquarters 
to  inform  General  Miles  of  the  movement.  Then 
hurrying  to  the  fortifications  he  had  the  gun  prepared 
for  action.  The  range-finder  adjusted  his  sights, 
and  the  cave  in  which  the  ammunition  was  stored 
was  opened.  A  line  of  skirmishers  were  sent  out 
beyond  the  fortifications  on  the  crests  of  the  hills. 
The  activity  at  headquarters  was  stirring.  Orders 

BE  IN  READINESS. 

were  sent  to  the  cavalry  to  saddle  and  be  in  readi 
ness  to  move  southwest  of  the  camp.  General 
Miles,  accompanied  by  Buffalo  Bill  and  his  staff,  rode 
to  the  fortifications  and  made  a  circuit  of  the  camp. 
Extra  ammunition  was  issued  and  when  everything 
was  in  readiness  the  troops  waited  a  movement. 
After  two  hours  General  Miles  received  word  that 
the  Indians  did  not  mean  to  make  any  advance,  but 
they  would  like  to  talk  with  him.  The  General  sent 
them  word  to  go  quietly  into  camp  and  he  would  re 
ceive  ten  of  their  chief  men.  Then  the  warriors  dis 
appeared  from  the  hilltop  and  an  hour  later  they 
were  camped  with  the  end  of  their  column  on  the 
plain. 

The  friendly  Indians  held  a  council  and  decided 
that  they  wanted  none  of  the  hostiles  in  their  camp. 
They  dug  rifle  pits  and  said  that  if  even  a  solitary 


492  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

warrior  came  among  them  and  caused  trouble  they 
would  arrest  him,  and  if  he  resisted  they  would  kill 
him.  Still,  this  did  not  give  a  feeling  of  security. 
If  a  fight  took  place  no  one  would  know  a  friendly 
from  a  hostile,  and  the  fight  would  become  simply  a 
battle  between  all  the  Indians  and  the  whites. 

The  next  day  found  General  Miles  still  patiently 

PATIENTLY  WAITING  FOR  THE  INDIANS. 

waiting  for  the  Indians  to  come  in.  The  hostile  In 
dians  still  remained  in  the  camp,  about  two  miles 
from  the  agency.  They  did  not  attempt  to  come 
nearer  with  the  exception  of  those  who  desired  to 
visit  some  of  the  friendlies,  and  who  were  compelled 
to  take  a  circuitous  route  around  the  agency  to 
reach  them.  These  were  generally  met  about  half 
a  mile  beyond  the  breastworks  by  pickets,  by  whom 
they  were  compelled  to  surrender  their  arms  until 
after  their  return  from  the  visit.  Young-Man-Afraid- 
of-his-Horses  came  in  from  the  camp  to  arrange  for 
a  meeting  of  the  hostile  chiefs  with  General  Miles. 
Arrangements  were  made,  and  on  January  14, 
Little  Wound,  Little  Hawk,  Crow  Dog  and  Old 
Calico  came  in  from  the  hostiles  to  talk  with  General 
Miles,  under  the  escort  of  Young-Mari-Afraid-of- 
Horses.  This  council  made  satisfactory  progress. 
Colonel  Corbin,  Assistant  Adjutant- General,  an 
nounced  that  the  chiefs  had  assented  to  the  surrender 
of  their  arms,  and  that  the  latter  would  probably  be 
brought  in  that  night  or  the  next  day. 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  493 

A  reported  uneasiness  among  the  young  men  in 

IN  FIGHTING  TRIM  ALL  NIGHT. 

the  hostile  camp  had  kept  the  troops  in  fighting  trim 
all  night,  but  the  outbreak  did  not  occur.  A  Rosebud 
Indian  explained  to  General  Brooke  that  the  reason 
he  did  not  return  to  the  agency  after  the  fight  on 
Wounded  Knee  was  because,  when  he  attempted  to 
do  so,  the  Indian  police  fired  on  him,  driving  him 
back  to  the  hostiles.  He  said  he  could  not  tell 
whether  the  latter  would  remain  out  or  not,  because 
there  were  a  number  of  young  men  among  them 
who  could  not  be  controlled. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

IN  AT  LAST. 

THE  HOSTILES  COME  TO  PINE  RIDGE — A  MOTLEY  PROCESSION — THEIR 
WEAPONS  LEFT  BEHIND,  HIDDEN  AWAY — WHAT  THE  CHIEFS  SAIJU — 
GENERAL  MILES'S  GENEROUS  CONDUCT — TROOPS  RETURNING  HOME — 
A  DELEGATION  OF  INDIANS  ON  THEIR  WAY  TO  WASHINGTON — LET 
TER  FROM  "  BUFFALO  BILL." 

To  everything  there  must  be  an  end,  except  to 
eternity.  The  deliberate  slowness  of  an  Indian  is  not 
quite  eternal.  So  at  last  it  ended,  and  the  hostiles 
came  in  to  the  Pine  Ridge  Agency.  This  was  on 
January  15.  At  noon  they  were  strung  along  the 
west  bank  of  White  Clay  Creek  for  a  distance  of 
two  miles.  They  were  mounted,  walking,  riding  on 
wagons,  and,  in  fact,  were  advancing  in  every  man 
ner  known  to  them.  They  were  driving  and  leading 
immense  herds  of  ponies  Some  of  them  entered 
the  friendlies'  camp,  others  pitched  their  tepees  on 
the  west  bank  of  the  White  Clay.  These  were  the 
Ogalallas.  The  Brules,  however,  were  camping  in 
the  bottom  around  Red  Cloud's  house  and  half  a 
mile  from  the  agency  buildings.  Frank  Gourard, 
the  scout,  estimated  the  number  of  lodges  at  742, 

494 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  495 

though  he  could  not  estimate  the  number  of  Indians, 
The  latter  could  not,  however,  be  fewer  than  3,500. 
The  Indian  camp  two  miles  from  the  agency  had 
been  broken  up.  General  Brooke  had  been  ordered 
to  march  in  with  his  command  from  below  the  mis 
sion. 

The  advance  guard  of  the  hostiles  had  scarcely 
reached  the  agency  when  Big  Road  sent  word  that 

COLLECTED  THE  ARMS 

he  had  collected  the  arms  of  his  followers  and  wanted 
to  surrender  them  to  the  agency.  When  the  weapons 
came  in  they  were  found  to  consist  of  simply  two  short 
guns,  a  heavy  rifle  and  a  broken  carbine,  two  Sharp's 
rifles  and  one  Winchester — nine  guns  in  all.  This 
surrender  was  an  evidence  that  the  Indians  did  not 
propose  to  give  up  all  their  guns,  that  they  had 
hidden  their  best  weapons  in  the  hills.  On  this  basis 
the  entire  hostile  band  would  be  expected  to  give  up 
about  100  guns,  when  it  was  known  that  every  man 
was  the  owner  of  a  weapon.  American  Horse,  Stand 
ing  Bear,  White  Horse  and  Spotted  Horse  asked 
protection  from  the  hostiles  camped  among  them. 

This  movement  of  the  hostiles  was  the  result  of  a 
visit  paid  to  General  Miles  the  day  before  by  Two 
Strike,  Kicking  Bear,  Lance  High,  Hawk  and  Eagle 
Pipe.  They  had  a  big  talk  with  General  Miles. 
The  same  subjects  were  considered  as  in  the  morning 

LEAVE  THEIR  CAMP. 

session  with  Little  Wound,  Big  Road,  Crow  Dog  and 
Turning  Bear.  It  was  agreed  that  the  hostiles  would 


496  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

leave  their  camp  and  pitch  their  tepees  on  the  west 
side  of  the  White  Clay  Creek,  immediately  opposite 
and  less  than  half  a  mile  from  the  agency.  It  was 
also  decided  the  Indians  would  surrender  their  arms 
to  their  respective  chiefs  and  that  the  arms  would 
be  taken.  The  latter  would  receipt  for  them,  placing 
the  name  of  each  man  upon  his  gun.  The  weapons 
would  then  be  sold  and  the  proceeds  returned  to 
the  Indians.  It  was  also  decided  that  the  chiefs 
would  attempt  to  control  their  young  men,  and 
failing  in  this  they  would  themselves  arrest  those 
who  refused  to  act  as  good  Indians  and  turn  them 
over  to  the  agent.  General  Miles  was  pleased  with 
the  friendly  disposition  manifested  by  the  chiefs,  and 
proposed  to  allow  them  several  days  in  which  to 

EVIDENCE  OF  HIS  GOOD  WILL, 

redeem  their  promise.  As  an  evidence  of  good  will 
the  General  sent  to  the  hostiles  several  thousand 
pounds  of  flour  and  several  hundred  pounds  of 
coffee  and  sugar.  The  General  also  considered 
with  them  several  of  the  important  contracts  which 
the  Indians  said  had  been  violated,  and  guaranteed 
that  in  future  these  contracts  would  be  complied 
with  to  the  letter.  The  chiefs  were  equally  pleased 
w'th  the  kindly  treatment  they  had  received  at  the 
hands  of  General  Miles.  The  General  demanded 
the  surrender  of  the  slayer  of  Lieutenant  Casey  and 
the  chiefs  promised  to  accede  to  the  demand. 

Short  Bull,   of  the  leading  hostiles,  was  missed 
from  both  detachments  o*"  chiefs.     His  absence  was 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  497 

explained  by  those  who  came  on  the  ground  that  so 
many  wild  young  men  desired  to  accompany  him  to 
the  agency  that  he  deemed  it  a  measure  of  policy  to 
remain  home. 

INTERVIEW  WITH  EAGLE  PIPE. 

A  correspondent  had  an  interview  with  Eagle 
Pipe,  in  which  a  number  of  facts  were  ascertained 
regarding  the  big  talk  with  the  General.  Among 
them  was  the  novel  one  that  the  Indians  demanded 
the  abolition  of  the  Rosebud  Agency  and  the  estab 
lishment  of  one  more  general  agency  at  Pine  Ridge. 
The  reason  they  advanced  for  this  radical  move  was 
the  fact  that  the  Indians  were  continually  moving 
from  one  agency  to  the  other,  contrasting  the 
methods  of  each,  and  longing  for  the  comforts  of 
Pine  Ridge  as  compared  with  the  many  disadvan 
tages  which  they  claimed  to  have  experienced  at 
Rosebud.  This  proposition  Eagle  Pipe,  who,  by  the 
way,  was  one  of  the  most  influential  of  Rosebud  or 
Brule  chiefs,  said  General  Miles  had  promised  to 
consider.  He  also  said  that  they  would  attempt  to 
control  all  their  young  men,  and  would  talk  to  them 
on  the  subject  when  he  should  return  home.  He 

INDULGING  IN  THE  GHOST  DANCE. 

said  also  that  they  had  been  recently  indulging  in 
the  ghost  dance,  but  that  there  were  only  a  few  of 
them,  and  they  generally  discontinued  it  when  he 
advised  them  to  do  so. 

In  anticipation  of  the  camping  of  the  hostiles  on 
the  west  side  of  the  agency,  General  Miles  ordered 


498  LlfE  OP  SITTING  BULL 

the  strengthening  of  the  breastworks  around  the 
Ogalalla  school,  all  of  which  command  the  proposed 
camping-grounds,  General  Colby  and  Buffalo  Bill, 
of  the  Nebraska  National  Guard,  had  a  talk  with 
General  Miles  regarding  the  return  to  their  homes 
of  the  militia  camped  along  the  frontier  towns. 
They  were  assured  that  the  men  need  no  longer  be 
retained.  General  Colby  telegraphed  his  commands 
that  they  might  return. 

General  Miles  telegraphed  to  General  Schofield 
at  Washington  as  follows  : 

"In  order  to  restore  entire  confidence  among 
these  Indians  I  have  found  it  necessary  to  send  a 

A  DELEGATION  TO  WASHINGTON. 

delegation  to  Washington  to  receive  assurance  of 
the  highest  authority  of  the  good  intention  of  the 
Government  toward  them.  This  will  answer  a 
double  purpose,  namely,  satisfy  them,  bridge  over 
the  transition  period  between  war  and  peace,  dispel 
distrust  and  hostility,  and  restore,  confidence.  It 
will  also  be  a  guarantee  of  peace  while  they  are  ab 
sent.  I  ask  that  my  'action  may  receive  the  ap 
proval  of  the  Department  by  telegraph.  Every 
thing  is  progressing  satisfactorily,  and  I  can  see 
no  reason  why  perfect  peace  may  not  be  estab 
lished." 

As  soon  as  the  Indians  got  into  the  agency  and 

CALLED  A  COUNCIL. 

fairly  settled,  the  Ogalailas  called  a  council,  which 
was  held  at  "  Loafer's  Camp,"  in  the  vicinity  of  the 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  499 

friendlies.  Six  hundred  Brules  were  present.  The 
former  had  prepared  a  feast  of  hot  coffee  and  boiled 
dog.  The  braves  squatted  in  a  circle,  in  the  centre 
of  which  steamed  the  viands.  The  only  white  man 
present  was  Lieutenant  Taylor,  9th  Cavalry,  com 
manding  the  famous  Ogalalla  scouts.  Among  the 
Ogalallas  present  were  Chiefs  Standing  Soldier, 
American  Horse,  Standing  Bear,  Fast  Thunder, 
Spotted  Horse,  White  Bird  and  Bad  Wound. 
Among  the  Brules  were  Chiefs  Short  Bull,  Hole  in 
His  Pants,  Kicking  Bear,  High  Pipe,  Iron  Bull  and 
Two  Strikes.  American  Horse  reviewed  the  cir 
cumstances  which  had  led  up  to  the  present  diffi 
culty  and  had  impelled  General  Miles  to  issue  the 
order  disbanding  the  Indians.  The  order,  he  said, 
ought  to  be  complied  with,  and  they  should  return 

RETURN  TO  THEIR  HOMES. 

to  their  homes  and  bring  their  young  men  to  respect 
their  white  friends,  dissuade  them  from  violence  and 
compel  their  children  to  return  to  school.  Short 
Bull  said  that  he  had  been  in  trouble  with  the  whites 
before,  but  that  he  had  signed  a  treaty  which 
always  prompted  him  to  be  a  good  friend  of  the 
white  man.  A  great  many  of  the  Rosebud  Indians 
wanted  to  come  to  Pine  Ridge  agency  because  they 
knew  they  would  be  treated  better  there.  Rosebud 
was  in  a  hole.  They  were  starved  there  sometimes. 
They  wanted  to  leave  it  and  live  with  their  brothers 
in  one  place.  People  carried  lies  about  the  Indians 
when  they  were  separated.  They  wanted  to  live  in 


5OO  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

one  family,  then  everything  would  be  all  right 
High  Pine  and  Two  Strikes  also  spoke. 

They  were  followed  by  Standing  Soldier,  a  tine 
young  man  of  the  Taylor  scouts.  He  said  that  some 
had  come  to  the  agency  to  make  trouble  and  had 
killed  friendly  Indians  ;  that  had  caused  the  soldiers 
to  be  sent  against  them  and  made  General  Miles 
command  them  to  lay  down  their  arms.  He  hoped 

BRING  PEACE  AGAIN. 

all  of  them  would  comply  with  the  order,  because  it 
would  bring  peace  again.  A  short  time  ago,  he  said, 
he  had  brought  to  White  Hat  (Lieutenant  Taylor) 
a  good  many  of  Sitting  Bull's  men.  They  were  now 
in  camp.  The  scouts,  when  they  were  brought  in, 
were  told  they  had  given  up  their  arms  and  reminded 
where  they  were  to  remain  and  had  been  well 
treated  and  their  ponies  had  been  fed  with  grain  and 
hay.  If  Big  Foot  and  his  band  had  come  in  they 
would  have  been  treated  in  the  same  manner.  The. 
trouble  which  killed  him  and  his  people  was  brought 
on  him  by  his  own  people.  If  they  were  here  now 
they  would  tell  them  something. 

Dr.  McGillicuddy  then  gave  them  a  talk  in  which 
he  pointed  out  the  errors  which  they  had  made  in 
the  past — the  leaders  they  had  followed  and  the  re 
sult  which  had  followed.  He  gave  them  good 
advice  and  encouraged  them  to  obey  regulations  in 
the  future. 

Lieutenant  Taylor  was  asked  to  speak,  and  said 
that  he  knew  many  Ogalallas  and  was  satisfied  that 


AND  T^E  INDIAN  WAR.  50 1 

they  were  friendly.  He  did  not  know  the  Brules 
so  well,  but  felt  that  there  were  many  brave  men 
among  them  that  would  listen  to  reason  The 
trouble  they  had  experienced  had  been  occa 
sioned  by  a  variety  of  circumstances  In  the 
greater  part  of  the  Indian  troubles  he  observed  the 
Indians  had  always  good  excuse  for  bringing  it  on. 
They  thought  they  had  some  excuse  in  bringing  it 
on.  He  thought  they  had  some  excuse  in  this 

TROUBLE  WAS  NOW  OVER. 

instance  ;  the  trouble  was  now  over  and  if  they  wish 
to  remain  in  peace  all  they  had  to  do  was  to  comply 
with  the  order  of  General  Miles,  Those  who  had 
good  sense  and  judgment  should  set  an  example  to 
and  control  the  young  men,  of  whom  he  knew  many 
lived  in  their  tribes.  They  had  turned  in  very  few 
guns  and  knew  they  had  many  more.  It  was  now 
the  middle  of  winter.  The  Great  Spirit  had  given 
them  extraordinarily  good  weather,  differing  from 
all  other  winters.  If  a  blizzard  should  now  come  up 
their  children  and  women  would  die  and  the  soldiers 
would  suffer.  He  hoped  they  would  immediately 
comply  with  General  Miles'  order  that  the  soldiers 
could  soon  go  home  and  would  be  comfortable.  If 
they  complied  with  General  Miles'  order  some  of 
them  would  be  allowed  to  go  to  Washington  to  see 
the  great  father  and  state  their  grievances.  He 
closed  by  stating  that  their  rights  would  be  recog 
nized  by  the  present  officers  who  had  been  placed 
over  them.  The  council  closed  in  the  best  possible 


5<D2  LITE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

humor,  and  it  was  noticed  that  some  of  the  Brules 
had  heard  arguments  and  facts  against  their  rebel 
lious  course  to  which  they  attached  considerable 
importance. 

An  interesting  estimate  of  the  situation  at  this 
date  was  made  by  that  experienced  Indian  manager, 
Col.  W.  R  Cody,  "  Buffalo  Bill,"  in  The  Philadel 
phia  Press.  He  said:  "The  situation  to-day,  so  far 

BEST  MARKED  TRIUMPHS. 

as  the  military  strategy  goes,  is  one  of  the  best 
marked  triumphs  known  in  the  history  of  an  Indian 
campaign.  It  speaks  for  itself,  for  the  usual  inci 
dents  to  Indian  warfare,  such  as  raids  on  settlers 
and  wide  devastation,  have  been  wholly  prevented. 
Only  one  white  man  has  been  killed  outside  the 
military  circle.  The  presiding  genius  and  his  able 
aides  have  acted  with  all  the  cautious  prowess  of  the 
hunter  in  surrounding  and  placing  in  the  trap  his  dan 
gerous  game,  at  the  same  time  recognizing  the  value 
of  uninjuring  the  game  for  future  occasions.  1  speak, 
of  course,  of  the  campaign  as  originally  planned  to 
overcome  and  pacify  the  dissaffected  portion  of  the 
Ogalallas,  Wassachas,  and  Brules,  the  Big  Foot 
affair  being  an  unlooked-for  accident.  The  situation 

A  DESPERATE  BAND  CORRALED. 

to-day,  with  a  desperate  band  corraled  and  the  pos 
sibility  of  any  individual  fanatic  running  amuck,  is 
most  critical,  but  the  wise  measure  of  holding  them 
in  a  military  wall,  allowing  them  to  quiet  down  and 
listen  to  the  assurances  of  such  men  as  Young-Man- 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  503 

Afraid-of-His-Horses,  Rocky  Bear,  No  Neck,  and 
other  progressive  Indians,  relieves  the  situation  so 
that,  unless  some  accident  happens  to  the  military 
end  of  the  active  warfare,  it  seems  a  complete,  final 
and  brilliant  success,  as  creditable  to  General  Miles' 
military  reputation  as  it  is  to  the  humane  and  just 
side  of  his  character. 

Neither  should  praise  be  withheld  from  General 
Brooke,  Carr,  Wheaton,  Henry,  Forsythe,  and  the 
other  officers  and  men  of  the  gallant  little  army  who 
stood  much  privation,  and  in  every  instance  I  have 

SYMPATHY  FOR  THEIR  UNHAPPY  FOE. 

heard  them  speak  they  never  expressed  great  sym 
pathy  for  their  unhappy  foe,  and  regrets  for  his  im 
poverished  and  desperate  condition.  They,  and  the 
thoughtful  people  here,  are  now  thinking  about  the 
future.  In  fact,  the  Government  and  nation  are 
confronted  by  a  problem  of  great  importance  as  re 
gards  remedying  the  existing  results.  The  larger 
portion  of  the  Ogalalla  Sioux  have  acted  nobly  in 
this  affair,  especially  up  to  the  time  of  the  stampede. 
The  Wassachas  and  Brules  have  laid  waste  the  res 
ervation  of  the  Ogalallas,  killed  their  cattle,  shot 
their  horses,  pillaged  their  houses,  burnt  their 
ranches  ;  in  fact,  poor  as  the  Ogalallas  were 
before  the  Brules  have  left  them  nothing  but 
the  bare  ground,  a  white  sheet  instead  of  a 
blanket,  with  Winter  at  hand,  and  the  little 
accumulations  of  thirteen  years  swept  away.  This 
much,  as  well  as  race  and  tribal  dissensions  and 


504  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

personal  enmity,  have  they  incurred  for  stand 
ing  by  the  Government  These  people  need  as 
much  sympathy  and  immediate  assistance  as  any 
section  of  country  when  great  calamities  arouse  the 
sympathy  of  the  philanthropist  and  the  Government. 
This  is  now  the  part  of  the  situation  that  to  me 
seems  the  most  remarkable.  What  are  we  going 
to  do  about  it  ?  Intelligent  and  quick  legislation 
can  now  do  more  than  the  bullet. 


I 


I 


WHITE  EAGLE. 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 

WHO  SHALL  BE  THE  VICTIM  ? 

DISCUSSION  OF  THE  INDIAN  QUESTION  BY  THE  REV.  W.  H.  HARE,  MIS 
SIONARY  BISHOP — How  THE  TROUBLE  WAS  BROUGHT  ABOUT,  AND 
WHO  SHOULD  BE  HELD  RESPONSIBLE  FOR  IT — REFLECTIONS  INSPIRED 
BY  THE  CONFLICT  AT  WOUNDED  KNEE. 

Amid  all  the  flood  of  comment  and  discussion 
that  was  let  loose  in  the  press  and  on  the  platform 
at  this  time,  nothing  was  better  worthy  of  notice 
than  some  remarks  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Hare,  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Missionary  Bishop,  of  Nio- 
brara.  He  had  spent  many  years  among  the  In 
dians,  and  well  understood  their  nature,  their  wrongs, 
and  their  needs.  These  were  his  comments  upon 
the  situation,  immediately  after  the  battle  of  Wound 
ed  Knee  : 

"  A  disaster  often  produces  a  disposition-  in  the 
public  mind  to  lay  blame  on  some  particular  person, 
or  set  of  persons,  on  the  assumption  that  some  par 
ticular  person,  or  set  of  persons,  must  have  been 
guilty  of  an  intentional  wrong.  And  it  is  probable 
that  the  present  Indian  trouble,  especially  the  tragic 
affair  on  Wounded  Knee  Creek,  will  call  this  ten- 

507 


508  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

dency  into  action,  and  that  some  official  person,  civil 
or  military,  or  some  one  set  of  persons — the  Indians, 
the  settlers,  the  Indian  Bureau,  or  the  military — 

WILL  BE  MADE  A  SCAPE-GOAT. 

With  some,  the  cause  of  all  the  trouble  will  be  the 
untamable  ferocity  of  the  Indians ;  with  others, 
thieving  or  blunders  in  the  Indian  Department; 
with  others,  the  heartless  brutality  of  the  soldiers — 
and  so  on.  Or  worse,  perhaps,  some  one  repre 
sentative  of  a  class,  some  one  person,  an  agent,  the 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  an  officer  of  the 
army,  will  be  singled  out,  and  on  him  an  incensed 
public  will  pour  the  vials  of  its  wrath.  This  process 
of  retribution  reaches  its  end  with  neatness  and  dis 
patch,  and  this  fact  commends  it  to  some.  The  as 
sumption  on  which  it  is  based,  that  some  person  or 
set  of  persons  has  been  guilty  of  an  intentional 
wrong,  is  like  a  clasp-knife ;  it  occupies  little  room 
(in  the  mind),  it  is  portable  and  quickly  made  ready 
for  use,  and,  when  used,  inflicts  a  wound.  This  is 
just  what  many  want. 

"  But  the  important  question  is,  Is  this  assumption, 
in  the  particular  case  under  consideration,  true,  and 
is  it  just  to  make  any  one  person,  or  class  of  persons, 
a  scape-goat  on  which  to  lay  the  sins  or  mistakes  of 
many,  or  the  natural  result  of  an 

IRREPRESSIBLE  CONFLICT?' 

"  A  careful  study  of  the  whole  situation  for  some 
years  past  will  lead,  I  think,  to  the  following  conclu 
sions.  Three  modes  of  dealing  with  the  Indians 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  509 

have  had  their  day.  The  first  said,  'Fight  them.' 
The  second,  '  Feed  them/  The  third,  '  Lead  them 
on  to  self-support.' 

<;  This  last  has  been  the  controlling  principle  for 
several  years  past,  and  in  carrying  it  out  the  design 
has  been  to  bring  the  Indians  in  from  a  roving  life 
and  confine  them  to  reservations ;  then  to  settle 
them  on  individual  and  separate  farms  ;  to  sell  their 
surplus  land  for  their  benefit,  and  to  stimulate  them 
to  labor  and  self-help  by  reducing  the  prodigal  issue 
of  rations  which  marked  the  relinquishment  of  the 
chase,  to  an  amount  which  would  be  sufficient,  if 
supplemented  by  their  own  essays  in  stock  raising 
and  farming  and  other  labor,  to  keep  them  from 
suffering.  This  plan  of  operation  is  a  wise  one,  and 
I  believe  has  been  so  esteemed,  not  only  by  judi 
cious  friends  of  the  Indians  in  the  East,  but  by  the 
most  practical  missionaries  living  on  the  reservations. 
Such  was  the  plan  of  action.  Now  let  us  watch  it 
in  operation  among  the  Sioux  of  South  Dakota. 

"  For  several  years  it  worked,  on  the  whole,  very 
well.  The  Indians  were  gathered  on  reservations, 
and 

TH-E   BORDER   WAS   QUIET. 

Many  of  the  Indians  broke  off  from  the  camps  where 
they  had  huddled,  and  took  farms,  and  not  infre 
quently  a  whole  band  under  the  lead  of  a  well-dis 
posed  chief,  and  prompted  by  the  promise  of  a  church 
or  s'chool,  would  settle  on  an  eligible  tract  along  a 
creek,  and  go  to  farming  and  raising  stock.  The 


510  t?IFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

rewards  of  their  efforts  were  not  inconsiderable, 
and  in  some  settlements  the  domestic  cattle  would 
average,  perhaps,  three  or  four  to  each  man,  and  in 
the  fall  their  stores  of  corn,  potatoes,  pumpkins,  and 
even  wheat  and  oats,  were  delightful  to  see.  Mis 
sionary  and  educational  effort  was  kindly  received, 
and  kept  pace  with  all  this  advance,  and  generally 
went  ahead  of  it.  The  counsels  of  the  missionary 
and  the  promise  of  a  chapel  or  a  school-house  fre 
quently,  if  not  generally,  preceded  the  determination 
to  give  up  the  dance  and  go  off  and  begin  a  farm- 
ing  settlement.  In  a  few  years  eight  to  a  dozen 
camp-schools  were  built  on  each  of  the  chief  sub 
divisions  of  the  great  Sioux  reserve.  Lone  women 
lived  in  them,  or  a  man  and  his  family,  and  taught 
unmolested  and  secure.  The  Episcopal  Church 
alone  counted  seven  or  eight  thousand  of  the  people 
among  the  habitual  attendants  on  its  religious  ser 
vices.  Its  communicant  members  numbered  over 
1,700  in  the  year  1890;  the  people  made  collections 
for  charitable  objects,  such  as  home  and  foreign 
missions,  and  the  women  showed  warm  interest  in 
forming  and  conducting  regular  branches  of  the 
Woman's  Auxiliary,  with  native  president,  secretary, 
and  treasurer. 

"The  time  seemed  now  to  have  come  to  take  a 
further  step  and  divide  the  great  Sioux  reservation 
up  into 

SEPARATE  RESERVE3  *  OR  EACH  IMPORTANT  TRIBE, 

aiid  to  open  the  surplus  land   to  settlement       fhe 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  5  I  I 

needs  of  the  white  population,  with  their  business 
and  railroads  and  the  welfare  of  the  Indians,  seemed 
alike  to  demand  this.  Commissioners  were,  there 
fore,  sent  out  to  treat  with  the  people  for  the  accom 
plishment  of  this  end,  and  an  agreement  which,  after 
much  debate  had  won  general  approval,  was  com 
mitted  to  them  for  presentation  to  the  Indians.  The 
objections  of  the  Indians  to  the  bill,  however,  were 
many,  and  they  were  ardently  pressed.  Some  pre 
ferred  their  old  life,  the  more  earnestly  because 
schools  and  churches  were  sapping  and  undermining 
it.  Some  wished  delay.  All  complained  that  many 
of  the  engagements  solemnly  made  with  them  in 
former  years,  when  they  had  surrendered  valued 
rights,  had  been  broken,  and  here  they  were  right. 
They  suspected  that  present  promises  of  pay  for 
their  lands  would  prove  only  old  ones  in  a  new 
shape  (when  milch  cows  were  promised,  cows  having 
been  promised  in  previous  agreements,  the  Indians 
exclaimed,  'There's  that  same  old  cow'),  and  de 
manded  that  no  further  surrender  should  be  expected 
until  former  promises  had  been  fulfilled.  They  were 
assured  that 

A  NEW  ERA  HAD  DAWNED, 

and  that  all  past  promises  would  be  kept.  So  we 
all  thought.  The  benefits  of  the  proposed  agree 
ment  were  set  before  them,  and  verbal  promises, 
over  and  above  the  stipulations  of  the  bill,  were 
made  that  special  requests  of  the  Indians  would  be 


512  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

met.  The  Indians  have  no  competent  representative 
body.  The  commissioners  had  to  treat  at  each 
agency  with  a  crowd,  a  crowd  composed  of  full- 
bloods,  half-breeds,  and  squaw-men,  a  crowd  among 
whom  all  sorts  of  sinister  influences  and  brute  force 
were  at  work.  Commissioners  with  such  a  business 
in  hand  have  the  devil  to  fight,  and  can  fight  him,  so 
it  often  seems,  only  with  fire,  and  many  friends  of 
the  Indians  think  that  in  this  case  the  commission, 
convinced  that  the  acceptance  of  the  bill  was  essen 
tial,  carried  persuasion  to  the  verge  of  intimidation. 
I  do  not  blame  them  if  they  sometimes  did.  The 
wit  and  patience  of  an  angel  would  fail  often  in  such 
a  task. 

"  But  the  requisite  number,  three-fourths  of  the 
Indians,  signed  the  bill,  and  expectation  of  rich  and 
prompt  rewards  ran  high.  The  Indians  understand 
little  of  the  complex  forms  and  delays  of  our  Gov 
ernment.  Six  months  passed,  and  nothing  came. 
Three  months  more,  and  nothing  came.*  But  in 
the  midst  of  the  winter's  pinching  cold  the  Indians 
learned  that  the  transaction  had  been  declared  com 
plete,  and  half  of  their  land  proclaimed  as  thrown 
open  to  the  whites.  Surveys  were  not  promptly 
made  ;  perhaps  they  could  not  be,  and  no  one  knew 
what  land  was  theirs  and  what  was  not.  The  very 
earth  seemed 


*  A  bill  was  drawn  up  in  the  Senate  under  Gen.  Crook's  eye,  and  passed, 
providing  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  promises  of  the  Commission,  but  it  was 
pigeon-holed  in  the  House. 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  513 

SLIDING  FROM  BENEATH  THEIR  FEET. 

Other  misfortunes  seemed  to  be  crowding  on  them. 
On  some  reserves  their  rations  were  being  reduced, 
and  lasted,  even  when  carefully  husbanded,  but  one- 
half  the  period  for  which  they  were  issued.*  In 
the  summer  of  1889,  all  the  people  on  the  Pine 
Ridge  Reserve,  men,  women,  and  children,  were 
called  in  from  their  farms  to  the  agency  to  treat 
with  the  Commissioners,  and  were  kept  there  a 
whole  month,  and,  on  returning  to  their  homes, 
found  that  their  cattle  had  broken  into  their  fields 
and  trampled  down  or  eaten  up  all  their  crops. 
This  was  true,  in  a  degree,  elsewhere.  In  1890,  the 
crops,  which  promised  splendidly  early  in  July,  failed 
entirely  later,  because  of  a  severe  drought.  The 
people  were  often  hungry,  and,  the  physicians  in 
many  cases  said,  died  when  taken  sick  not  so  much 
from  disease  as  for  want  of  food.f 

"  No  doubt  the  people  could  have  saved  them 
selves  from  suffering  if  industry,  economy,  and  thrift 
had  abounded,  but  these  are  just  the  virtues  which 
a  people  merging  from  barbarism  lack.  The 
measles  prevailed  in  1889,  and  were  exceedingly 


*  The  amount  of  beef  bought  for  the  Indians  is  not  a  fair  criterion  of  the 
amount  he  receives.  A  steer  will  lose  200  pounds  or  more  of  its  flesh  during 
the  course  of  the  winter. 

f  This  is  doubtless  true  of  all  the  poor,  the  poor  in  our  cities  and  the  poor 
settlers  in  the  West. 

The  testimony  regarding  the  existence  of  hunger  is  exceedingly  conflict 
ing,  but  at  Pine  Ridge  Agency,  at  least,  it  seemed  to  me  conclusive  that  it 
was  general  and  extreme. 


514  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

fatal.  Next  year  the  grippe  swept  over  the  people 
with  appalling  results.  Whooping-cough  followed 
among  the  children.  Sullenness  and 

GLOOM  BEGAN  TO  GATHER, 

especially  among  the  heathen  and  wilder  Indians. 
A  witness  of  high  character  told  me  that  a  marked 
discontent,  amounting  almost  to  despair,  prevailed 
in  many  quarters.  The  people  said  their  children 
were  all  dying  from  diseases  brought  by  the 
whites,  their  race  was  perishing  from  the  face  of  the 
earth,  and  they  might  as  well  be  killed  at  once. 
Old  chiefs  and  medicine  *  men  were  losing  their 
power.  Withal,  new  ways  were  prevailing  more 
and  more  which  did  not  suit  the  older  people.  The 
old  ways  which  they  loved  were  passing  away.  In 
a  word,  all  things  were  against  them,  and,  to  add  to 
the  calamity,  many  Indians,  especially  the  wilder  ele 
ment,  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  brood  over  their 
misfortunes.  While  in  this  unhappy  state,  the  story 
of  a  Messiah  coming,  with  its  ghost  dance  and 
strange  hallucinations,  spread  among  the  heathen 
part  of  the  people.  The  Christian  Indians,  on  the 
whole,  maintained  their  stand  with  praiseworthy  pa 
tience  and  fortitude ;  but  the  dancers  were  in  a 
state  of  exaltation  approaching  frenzy.  Restraint 
only  increased  their  madness.  The  dancers  were 
found  to  be  well  armed.  Insubordination  broke 
out  on  several  reserves.  The  authority  of  the 
agent  and  of  the  native  police  was  overthrown. 
The  civilized  Indians  were  intimidated. 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  515 

ALARM   SPREAD  EVERYWHERE. 

No  one  knew  what  was  coming.  The  military  were 
summoned  to  the  agencies.  Their  appearance  did 
not  dampen  zeal,  but  fanned  the  flames.  Why 
should  they  fear  who  wore  the  bullet-proof  sacred 
shirt  ?  When  one  of  the  women,  wounded  in  the  fight, 
was  approached  as  she  lay  in  the  church  and  told  by 
Miss  Goodale  she  must  let  them  remove  her  ghost 
dance  shirt  in  order  the  better  to  get  at  her  wound, 
she  replied,  '  Yes,  take  it  off.  They  told  me  a  bullet 
would  not  go  through.  Now  I  don't  want  it  any 
more/  Hence,  when  Col.  Forsythe's  cavalry  over 
took  Big  Foot's  band  (off  their  own  reserve,  and 
apparently  bent  on  mischief)  and  endeavored  to 
take  from  them  their  arms,  after  their  surrender,  the 
commanding  officer's  forbearance  and  coolness 
availed  nothing.  The  prayers  of  the  medicine  man 
and  his  assurances  that  the  bullets  would  not  pene 
trate  their  ghost  dance  shirts  prevailed,  and  al 
though  two  pieces  of  artillery  were  trained  upon 
them,  and  the  soldiers  who  surrounded  them  out 
numbered  the  Indian  warriors  three  or  four  times, 
they  fell  suddenly  upon  the  troops  with  savage  fury, 
and  continued  fighting  often  even  when  wounded  and 
dying.  The  soldiers  retaliated  with  terrible  results. 
Indian  men,  women,  and  boys  engaged  in  the  fight, 
and  Indian  men,  women,  and  boys  paid  the  penalty. 
What  is  to  follow  no  one  knows. 

SUCH   IS  THE   SAD   STORY. 

"  But  I  do  not  think  the  reasonable  conclusion  is 


516  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

that  some  one  person,  or  set  of  persons,  should  be 
made  a  scape-goat  or  become  the  victim  of  an  in 
censed  people's  wrath. 

"  Some  say,  The  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs 
gives  too  much  attention  to  schools  and  should 
devote  more  to  empty  stomachs.  Well,  a  while  ago 
the  complaint  was  that  the  Indian  Department 
seemed  to  think  that  all  the  Indians  needed  was  beef 
and  flour,  sugar  and  coffee. 

"  Some  say,  Missionaries  should  preach  less  and 
teach  housewifery  and  the  arts  of  healthy  living  more. 
So  be  it,  and  let  funds  be  supplied. 

"  Some  say,  The  military  are  peremptory  and 
severe.  Perhaps  they  are  (in  a  fight,  but  not  other 
wise);  but  to  be  a  fair  judge  one  should  first  take  a 
taste  of  campaigning  in  the  Indian  country. 

"  Some  say,  The  Indians  are  madmen  and  savages. 
Let  those  who  say  so  remember  how  they  themselves 
feel  when,  from  continued  slights,  or  affronts,  or  dis 
appointments,  they  are  sore  all  over. 

"  No.  We  need  no  victim.  We  need  no  scape 
goat. 

"  But  these  things  we  do  want.  A  profound  con 
viction  in  the  mind  not  only  of  a  few,  but  of  the 
PEOPLE,  that 

THE  INDIAN  PROBLEM  IS  WORTH  ATTENDING  TO. 

Next,  that  officials  placed  in  charge  of  the  difficult 
Indian  problem  should  be  protected  from  the  impor 
tunity  of  hungry  politicians,  and  that  the  employees 
in  the  Indian  country,  agents,  teachers,  farmers,  car- 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  5  I  J 

pel  ters,  should  not  be  changed  with  every  shuffling 
of  the  political  cards.  The  abuse  here  has  been 
sha.meful.  Next,  that  Congress,  especially  the 
House  of  Representatives,  shall  consider  itself 
bound  in  honor  to  make  provision  for  the  fulfillment 
of  promises  made  to  the  Indians  by  Commissioners 
duly  appointed  and  sent  to  the  Indians  by  another 
branch  of  the  Government.  The  evils  which  have 
arisen  from  a  violation  of  this  comity  have  been 
most  serious.  Next,  that  testimony  regarding  In 
dian  affairs  should  not  be  swallowed  until  careful 
inquiry  has  been  made  as  to  the  disinterestedness 
of  the  witness.  An  honest  man  out  here 

BURNS  WITH   INDIGNATION 

when  he  reads  in  the  papers  that  So-and-So,  repre 
sented  as  being  fully  informed  on  the  whole  question, 
affirms  that  Indians  have  no  grievances  and  ought 
to  receive  no  quarter,  when  he  knows  that  the  lots 
which  the  witness  owns  in  a  town  near  the  Indian 
country  would  no  longer  be  a  drug  in  the  market 
if  Indians  could  be  gotten  out  of  the  way.  Next, 
let  it  be  remembered  that  this  crisis  has  lifted  evils 
in  the  Indian  country  up  into  the  light,  and  left  the 
good  things  in  the  shade.  But  the  goods  things  are 
real  and  have  shown  their  vigor  under  trial.  There 
is  no  reason  for  losing  faith  or  courage.  Let  all 
kind  and  honest  men  unite  with  the  higher  officials 
of  the  Government,  all  of  whom,  I  believe,  mean 
well,  in  a  spirit  of  forbearance  toward  each  other, 


518  LIFE    OF  SITTING   BULL 

of  willingness  to  learn,  and  of  mutual  helpfulness, 
to  ajcompli.sh  the  results  which  they  all  desire. 

"  I  believe  an  inspired  Apostle,  after  studying  the 
Indian  question  in  South  Dakota  to-day,  would  write 
as  one  did  in  a  time  of  distrust  and  perplexity  of 
old,  *  Be  ye  steadfast,  immovable,  always  abounding 
in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  ye  know  that 
your  labor  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord.'  " 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE    INDIAN    IN    CONGRESS. 

STARVED  INTO  HOSTILITIES — CRIME  TOWARD  THE  INDIANS — DIFFICULTY 
WITH  THE  INDIAN  SERVICE— WENT  TO  HIS  GRAVE  THROUGH  GRIEF — 
THE  BANE  AND  CURSE  OF  THE  INDIANS — THEY  HAVE  NOTHING  TO 
EAT — Go  UPON  THE  WAR-PATH — LACK  OF  PPOPER  PROVISIONS — AC 
CEPT  ANY  PROPOSITION — THE  Sioux  ARE  STARVING— SOLVING  THE  IN 
DIAN  QUESTION — MOST  Pious  HYPOCRITE — PROPOSE  AN  INVESTIGA 
TION — GREATEST  INDIAN  THAT  HAS  LIVED. 

Early  in  the  history  of  the  more  serious  part  of 
the  campaign,  the  Indian  troubles  attracted  the  at 
tention  of  Congress.  For  two  days,  December  3d 
and  4th,  the  United  States  Senate  discussed  the 
condition  of  the  Sioux  and  the  best  means  of  re 
storing  peace.  The  subject  came  up  on  the  intro 
duction  of  a  joint  resolution  by  the  Committee  on 
Military  Affairs,  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  War 
to  issue  arms  and  ammunition  to  the  people  of 
North  and  South  Dakota  for  purposes  of  self- 
defense. 

Mr.  Voorhees  in  opening  the  debate,  said  that  if 
the  proposition  were  one  to  issue  a  hundred  thou 
sand  rations  of  food  to  the  starving  Indians,  it  would 
be  more  consistent  with  Christian  civilization.  Maj.- 
Gen.  Miles,  he  said,  had  stated  in  public  interviews 
that  the  Indians  were  driven  to  revolt  or  rebellion, 

519 


520  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

or  into  savagery,  by  starvation  ;  and  it  was,  in  his 
judgment,  an  inexpiable  crime  on  the  part  of  the 
Government  to  stand  silently  by  and  do  nothing 
except  furnish  arms  to  the  whites.  Gen.  Miles  had 
stated  to  the  public^as  he  had  previously  stated  to 
him,  that  the  Indians  were  being 

STARVED   INTO    HOSTILITIES, 

and  that  they  preferred  to  die  righting  rather  than 
be  starved  to  death.  Mr.  Voorhees  regards  the 

o 

policy  pursued  in  the  administration  of  Indian  affairs 
as  a  crime  revolting  to  man  and  to  God.  The 
Indians  had  no  newspapers  to  make  known  their 
sufferings  and  privations.  They  had  been  suffering 
for  years  in  silence.  There  was  blood-guiltiness 
somewhere  in  connection  with  it.  He  had  intended 
to  introduce  a. resolution  asking  for  an  investigation 

o  o 

on  the  subject,  but  he  had  an  entire  respect  for  the 
Committee  on  Indian  Affairs,  and  he  had  no  right 
to  assume  to  instruct  that  committee.  But  some 
where  there  was  blood-guiltiness  that  would  have 
to  be  answered  for.  The  hostilities  into  which  the 
Indians  in  the  Northwest  were  being  starved  would 
result  not  merely  in  the  destruction  of  the  lives  of 
many  Indians,  but  of  the  lives  of  thousands  of 
American  citizens  and  hundreds  of  American  sol 
diers.  That  condition  of  things  had  been  brought 
about  by  a  niggardly,  parsimonious,  or  dishonest 
policy — he  knew  not  which.  While  he  was  willing 
that  the  joint  resolution  should  pass,  and  that  the 
people  of  the  Northwestern  States  should  be  armed, 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR.  52! 

He  could  not  refrain  from  emphasizing  the  occasion 
by  those  few  words.  When  he  had  asked  Gen. 
Miles  whether  something  could  not  be  done  to  pre 
vent  hostilities,  the  General's  answer  was  that  he 
feared  it  was  too  late.  Whether  it  was  too  late  or 
not,  he  was  glad  that  his  skirts  were  clear  of  any 
of  the  blood  that  would  be  shed,  growing  out  of  a 
policy  of  starvation,  iniquity,  and 

CRIME   TOWARD    THE    INDIANS. 

The  policy  had  been  pursued  to  take  the  lands  of 
the  Indians  and  not  pay  enough  for  them  to  keep 
the  Indians  from  starving  to  death  when  dispossessed 
of  their  homes. 

Mr.  Hawley  said  he  did  not  know  that  he  had 
any  objection  to  the  remarks  of  the  Senator  from 
Indiana,  except  that  they  were,  perhaps,  a  little 
florid  and  exaggerated.  He,  too,  had  been  think 
ing  (as  he  presumed  most  American  citizens  had 
been)  that  100,000  rations  of  food  would  be  worth 
more  than  100,000  ball  cartridges,  and  he  had  been 
.hoping  that  the  time  would  arrive  when  an  appro 
priation  would  be  made  for  that  purpose.  An  alle 
gation  had  been  made  that  the  Sioux  Commission 
had  made  certain  promises  to  the  Indians  which 
had  been  entirely  disregarded  by  Congress,  and 
that  there  had  been  constant  irritation  ever  since. 
It  had  been  also  said  in  the  public  press  that  the 
allowance  of  rations  had  been  fixed  at  a  certain 
figure  long  ago,  and  had  been  gradually  diminished 
on  the  theory  that  the  Indians  were  going  over  to 


522  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL\ 

\-.  ' 

civilization  or  were  dying  out,  whereas  neither  was 
the  case. 

Mr.  Dawes,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Indian 
Affairs,  satirically  expressed  his  delight  that  the 
Senator  from  Indiana  had  discovered  the  real  cause 
of  the  present  troubles  among  the  Indians,  because 
those  who  had  lived  among  them  and  who  had  had 
much  to  do  with  them  (Gen.  Miles  and  others)  were 
much  perplexed  as  to  what  was  the  cause  and  what 
was  the  remedy.  There  was  a  great  diversity  of 
opinion  on  the  subject.  A  good  deal  of  what  the 
Senator  from  Indiana  had  stated  was  undoubtedly 
true.  There  was  a  large  body  of  those  Indians 
starving,  or  at  least  short  of  food,  and  that  condition 
aggravated  the  feeling  prevalent  among  them.  But 
he  doubted  that  that  was  the  origin  of  the  evil,  or 
that  a  supply  of  food  would  be  the  cure  for  it.  The 
Indians  who  were  starving  were  Indians  who  had 
been  led  by  a  religious  craze  to  abandon  their  homes 
and  follow  the  standard  of  their  chiefs  on  the  war 
path,  leaving  all  their  sources  of  supply  and  the 
means  of  support  which  they  had  hitherto  enjoyed. 
The 

DIFFICULTY   WITH   THE   INDIAN   SERVICE  ' 

all  along  in  the  past  had  been  a  constant  change  of 
policy.  Heretofore  for  years  it  had  been  impressed 
upon  Congress  that  the  best  way  to  treat  the  Indian 
was  to  starve  him  into  self-support.  "  Root,  hog, 
or  die,''  had  been  the  phrase  sjjietimes  put  over 
the  door  of  those  who  administered  the  affairs  of 


STANDING  BEAK. 


AND    THE    IkDIAX    MAR.  525 

the  Indians,  and  the  policy  had  been  to  cut  down, 
year  by  year,  the  rations  required  by  treaties,  and 
to  give  notice  to  the  Indians  that  next  year  they 
were  to  have  only  so  much,  and  that  the  difference 
must  be  supplied  by  the  labor  of  their  own  hands. 
He  thought  it  well  to  hold  out  every  inducement  to 
the  Indians  to  turn  from  dependence  on  Govern 
ment  rations  and  to  supply  their  own  support ;  and 
that  it  was  well  to  resort  to  all  the  devices  within 
the  limits  of  justice  and  reason  to  induce  them  to 
do  it. 

As  to  the  suggestion  in  the  public  press  that  the 
Government  had  failed  to  keep  the  promises  made 
to  the  Indians  by  the  Sioux  Commission,  and  that 
Gen.  Crook  (the  head  of  that  Commission)  was  so 
wounded  by  the  lack  of  good  faith  on  the  part  of 
the  Government  that  he 

WENT   TO   HIS   GRAVE   THROUGH   GRIEF, 

the  truth  was  that  the  Commission  had  made  two 
sorts  of  stipulations  with  the  Indians.  One  of  them 
had  been  written  out  in  plain  language  and  enacted 
into  law  by  Congress,  and  that  stipulation  the  Com 
mission  had  taken  out  to  the  Indians,  asking  them  to 
accept  it.  The  Commission  had  no  power  to  alter 
it  in  one  iota.  The  Indians  had  had  cause  of  com 
plaint  on  account  of  the  non-fulfillment  of  other 
agreements,  and  the  Commission  had  told  them 
that  it  had  no  authority  as  to  these  matters,  but  that 
it  would  use  its  influence  with  the  Government  in 
the  case.  The  Commission  had  reported  to  the  In- 


526  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

terior  Department  and  to  the  President,  just  a?  it 
had  told  the  Indians  it  would  do.  The  Commission 
had  then  gone  to  the  Indian  Department  with  forty 
representative  Indians.  The  Indian  Committees  of 
both  Houses  had  been  invited  to  the  conference. 
The  agreement  was  read  over  in  the  presence  of 
the  Indians  and  of  the  Commission,  and  all  had  as 
sented  to  it.  It  had  then  been  embodied  in  a  bill 
that  was  drawn  up  by  Gen,  Crook  and  his  asso 
ciates,  and  was  submitted  to  Congress  by  the  Presi 
dent.  The  bill  thus  framed  to  the  complete  satis 
faction  of  the  Indians  had  passed  the  Senate  without 
the  dotting  of  an  ui"  or  the  crQssing  of  a  "  t,"  but 
where  it  was  now  he  did  not  know.  He  knew, 
however,  that  the  skirts  of  the  Executive  and  of 
the  Senate  were  clean  of  any  attempt  to  depart  one 
iota  from  the  assurances  given  to  the  Indians  by  the 
Commission.  Mr.  Dawes  said  that  he  realized  the 
danger  and  the  necessity  of  some  present  relief  to 
bring  around  composure  among  the  Indians  and  to 
extricate  them  from  the  lead  of  such  bad  Indians  as 
Sitting  Bull  and  Red  Cloud,  who  were 

THE  BANE   AND   CURSE   OF   THE   INDIANS. 

Mr.  Voorhees  said  he  did  not  know  whose  fault  it 
was  that  the  Indians  were  not  fed.  It  might  be  the 
fault  of  Congress,  or  it  might  be  the  fault  of  dishon 
est  men.  The  Indians  were  armed  with  Winchester 
rifles,  and  were  in  a  state  of  starvation  and  desper 
ation.  They  could  enter  the  field  with  6,000  fight 
ing  men,  and  with  the  advantage  of  their  knowledge 


AND    TH2  INDIAN  WAR.  527 

of  the  country  they  could  fight  6,000  of  the  best 
American  troops  on  terms  of  equality.  He  asked 
the  Senator  from  Massachusetts  whether  those  In 
dians  had  enough  to  eat ;  whether  Gen.  Miles  was 
right  or  wrong ;  and  whether  the  Indians  were  be 
ing  starved  into  belligerancy. 

Mr.  Dawes  said  he  had  heard  to-day,  for  the  first 
time,  that  the  Indians  were  on  the  war-path  because 
they  were  starving.  They  had  been  on  the  war 
path  for  three  or  four  weeks.  They  had  been  hold 
ing  meetings,  and  had  been  giving  themselves  up 
to  the  delusion  that  the  time  had  come  to  go  back 
to  barbarism  and  away  from  civilization,  and  they 
were  starving  in  consequence  of  that.  He  was  not 
disposed  to  deny  that  there  had  been  distress 
among  the  Indians,  as  there  had  been  among  the 
white  people  in  that  region. 

Mr.  Voorhees — Does  not  Gen.  Miles  say  that  these 
Indians  have  been  hungry  for  two  years? 

Mr.  Dawes — He  may  have  said  it  to  the  Senator 
from  Indiana. 

Mr.  Voorhees — He  says  it  in  his  published  inter 
view. 

Mr.  Dawes — The  great  difficulty  in  dealing  with 
those  6000  Indians  who  are  congregating  under 
leaders  and  are  on  the  war-path  is  that 

THEY   HAVE  NOTHING  TO   EAT. 

They  are  away  from  their  tepees.  They  belong  to 
that  class  of  Indians  who  never  did  a  day's  work  in 
their  lives. 


528  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

Mr.  Pierce  said  that  he  had  sometimes  wondered 
that  the  white  people  in  that  region  did  not  themselves 
go  on  the  war-path  because  they  were  hungry.  The 
Indian  seemed  to  get  hungry,  as  well  as  noble,  the 
further  people  got  away  from  him.  He  lived  within 
a  few  miles  of  the  great  Sioux  Reservation.  He 
had  been  there  for  the  last  two  months,  and  this  was 
the  first  time  he  had  heard  it  asserted  that  the  In 
dian  was  on  the  war-path  because  he  was-  hungry. 
He  saw  Indians  every  day  in  the  town  where  he 
lived,  and  they  were  sleeker  and  better  fed,  appar 
ently,  than  the  Senator  from  Indiana. 

Mr.  Voorhees — Does  the  Senator  suppose  that 
Gen.  Miles  does  not  know  what  he  is  talking  about, 
or  that  he  does  not  know  better  about  Indian  affairs 
than  a  citizen  of  Dakota  ? 

Mr.  Pierce  —I  am  nearer  to  the  Indians  than  Gen. 
Miles  is.  I  have  no  doubt  that  in  some  of  the 
agencies  there  are  Indians  who  complain  of  insuffi 
cient  food.  But  I  do  question  whether  Gen.  Miles 
made  the  statement  attributed  to  him  in  the  news 
papers.  The  trouble  with  the  Indians  is  that  they 
are  fed  and  clothed  and  allowed  to  live  on  the 
bounty  of  the  Government,  and  that,  therefore,  as 
the  old  adage  says,  "the  devil  finds  mischief  still  for 
idle  hands  to  do."  I  apprehend  that  you  might  take 
the  same  number  of  white  people  and  put  them  on 
a  reservation,  and  feed  and  clothe  and  take  care  of 
them,  and  that  in  less  than  six  months  they  also 

WOLilJ 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  529 

GO  UPON  THE.  WAR-PATH. 

Mr.  Dawes  having  handed  to  Mr.  Pierce  a  copy 
of  the  New  York  Tribune  containing  an  account  of 
the  interview  with  Gen.  Miles,  Mr.  Pierce  read  the 
words  "  insufficient  fo'od-supply  and  religious  de 
lusion — not  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  sav 
ages  to  go  to  war."  He  had  no  doubt  that  the  re 
ligious  craze  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  whole  busi 
ness,  and  that  the  Indians  themselves  did  not  at 
tribute  their  disposition  to  any  lack  of  food. 

Mr  Voorhees  took  the  copy  of  the  Tribune  from 
which  Mr.  Pierce  had  read,  and  quoted  from  other 
parts  of  the  interview  statements  to  the  effect  that 
the  Indians  were  starved  into  fighting,  and  would 
prefer  to  die  fighting  rather  than  to  starve  peace 
fully.  He  asked  Mr.  Pierce  why  he  had  not  read 
that.  Mr.  Voorhees  paid  a  high  compliment  to  the 
soldierly  and  other  good  qualities  of  Gen.  Miles,  and 
said  that  he  would  take  his  statement  far  sooner 
than  that  of  a  Senator  who  lived  near  the  Sioux 
Reservation,  and  who,  with  his  people,  wanted  to 
get  the  Indian  lands  as  soon  as  possible.  The  one 
was  a  reliable  officer ;  the  other  was  the  fox  lying 
around  the  pen  where  the  geese  were,  waiting  to 
get  some  of  them. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe,  at  this  point,  that  on 
the  very  day  when  this  debate  occurred,  Col.  Heyl, 
Inspector  General  of  the  Division  of  the  Missouri, 
ssjd :  "The  principal  cause  of  the  Indian  troubles 
is 


530  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

LACK  OF  PROPER  PROVISIONS 

in  the  way  of  rations — principally  meat  rations. 
The  latter  was  reduced  1,000,000  pounds  for  the 
Pine  Ridge  Reservation  alone,  and  the  authorities 
there  have  a  practice  of  issuing  a  steer  at  the  weight 
at  which  it  was  received.  For  instance,  the  agency 
might  get  a  steer  in  the  fall  that  would  weigh  1,000 
pounds.  In  the  spring  it  would  not  weigh  more 
than  800  pounds,  but  it  would  be  issued  as  1,000 
pounds  all  the  same.  Of  course,  the  Indians  would 
lose  the  difference.  This  is  one  great  source  of  dis 
satisfaction. 

"The   Indians    generally,   I   think,   are   inclined 
to 

ACCEPT  ANY   PROPOSITION 

made  to  them  by  the  military  authorities  of  a  peace 
ful  nature,  but  when  I  left  there  there  was  a  big 
snow-storm  and  blizzard  coming,  which  I  think  will 
cool  the  ardor  of  the  young  bucks.  While  I  was 
there  Gen.  Brooke  enlisted  ninety  Sioux  braves  as 
Indian  police,  and  armed  them  with  Springfield  rifles. 
They  were  made  a  guard  for  the  Indian  camp.  The 
best  evidence  that  these  Indians  were  all  acting  in 
good  faith  was  that  they  all  cut  their  hair  off  short. 
When  an  Indian  cuts  off  his  scalp-lock  and  has  his 
hair  cut  short  you  may  feel  sure  that  he  has  effectu 
ally  departed  from  war-like  customs.  I  do  not  an 
ticipate  a  winter  campaign  in  the  Indian  country  in 
that  sense  of  the  word,  but  troops  will  be  kept 
there  as  against  any  possibility  that  might  happen 


AND    THE   INDIAN   WAR.  531 

this  winter,  or  any  attempt  to  go  on  the  war-path  in 
the  spring.  The  Indians  are  not  properly  fed,  and 
there  will  be  the  probability  of  trouble  until  they  are." 
The  next  day  the  debate  in  the  Senate  was  re 
sumed.  Mr.  Voorhees  said  that  he  did  not  want  to 
delay  the  passage  of  the  joint  resolution ;  but  after 
what  had  transpired  yesterday,  he  thought  it  due 
not  only  to  himself  but  to  Gen.  Miles,  as  well  as  to 
the  country  to  submit  some  matter  which  had  since 
come  to  his  hands.  That  was  an  interview  with  ex- 
Governor  Foster,  of  Ohio,  published  in  The  Cincin 
nati  Enquirer.  All  the  Senators  were  acquainted 
with  Mr.  Foster,  who  had  recently  served  on  an 
important  Indian  Commission,  and  his  views  ought 
to  have  and  doubtless  would  have  great  weight. 

o  o 

Mr.  Foster  said  in  that  interview :  "  In  my  opinion, 
the  difficulties  might  be  easily  avoided.  The  whole 
matter  has  been  brought  about  by  a  combination  of 
bad  policy  and  of  the  incompetency  of  some 
officials. 

THE  SIOUX  ARE  STARVING. 

Give  the  Sioux  plenty  to  eat  and  there  will  be  no 
further  trouble." 

Mr.  Teller  asked  whether  he  understood  Mr. 
Voorhees  to  say  that  these  Indians  did  not  have 
enough  to  eat. 

Mr.  Voorhees — You  understood  me  to  say  that 
Governor  Foster  said  so. 

Mr.  Teller — And  the  Senator  accepts  that  as  cor 
rect? 


53*  Z/tfE    OF  SITTING   BULL 

Mr.  Voorhees — I  think  that  Governor  Foster  tells 
the  truth.  The  great  stubborn  fact  confronts  the 
country  that  in  some  way  or  other  these  Indians  are 
starved  into  fighting. 

Mr.  Dawes,  commenting  on  the  interview  with 
ex-Governor  Foster,  said  that  there  was  nothing  in 
it  which  failed  to  corroborate  his  statement  yester 
day  as  to  the  cause  of  the  Indian  troubles.  It  rather 
supported  what  he  had  said.  It  was  true  that  there 
were  five  or  six  thousand  Indians  there  in  a  starving 
condition,  and  the  peril  to  the  peace  and  to  the  lives 
of  white  people  was  just  as  great  whether  it  arose 
from  one  cause  or  another,  and  it  had  to  be  met 
and  guarded  against  by  a  supply  of  food.  In  that 
peril  it  was,  perhaps,  unwise  to  take  up  time  in  in 
quiry  into  the  cause.  There  was  a  habit,  Mr.  Dawes 
said,  of 

SOLVING  THE  INDIAN  QUESTION 

every  once  in  a  fortnight  by  a  column  of  a  news 
paper,  or  by  an  interview  with  somebody,  made  up 
principally  of  charges  of  injustice  and  fraud  on  the 
part  of  the  Government.  It  seemed  to  him  that 
people  were  misled  in  that  regard.  For  the  last 
ten  or  fifteen  years  the  Indians  had  been,  in  the 
main,  treated  fairly  and  squarely.  He  knew  and 
appreciated  ex-Governor  Foster,  but  that  gentleman 
was  not  quite  so  well  acquainted  with  the  condition 
of  things  among  the  Sioux  Indians  as  were  men 
who  lived  among  them  and  had  charge  of  them. 
Mr,  Foster  had  made  a  mistake  in  saying  that  the 


AND    THE  INDIAN  WAR.  533 

lands  had  been  taken  from  the  Sioux  first  and  their 
consent  obtained  afterward.  No  such  thing  had 
been  done,  and  the  story  of  the  whole  case  showed 
that  it  was  not  so.  Mr.  Dawes  went  on  to  say  that 
the  public  mind  had  been  perverted  by  an  army  of 
newspaper  men  out  in  the  Indian  country. 

Mr.  Blair  asked  Mr.  Dawes  whether  any  applica 
tion  for  food  had  been  made  to  the  Government  by 
the  Indians. 

Mr.  Dawes — Not  by  these  hostile  Indians.  But 
the  Government  thinks  that  as  a  matter  of  precau 
tion  against  an  outbreak,  it  would  be  better  to  feed 
them,  just  as  sometimes  in  time  of  war  an  enemy 
has  to  be  fed. 

Mr.  Blair — If  they  were  hungry  and  wanted  to  be 
fed,  would  they  not  naturally  apply  for  food  instead 
of  making  war? 

Mr.  Dawes — I  believe  that  Sitting  Bull  and  Red 
Cloud  have  availed  themselves  of  the  present  con 
ditions  to  draw  on  these  Indians,  making  use  of  the 
prevalent  delusion  as  a  means.  This  Sitting  Bull 
is  the 

MOST   PIOUS   HYPOCRITE 

in  this  country,  and  that  is  saying  a  good  deal. 

Mr.  Reagan  assumed  that,  if  there  was  any  danger 
of  an  outbreak,  some  communication  would  have 
been  made  to  Congress  from  the  Executive  De 
partment,  and  he  said  that  he  was  not  prepared 
to  assume  that  the  Executive  was  derelict  in  his 
duty. 


534  LIFE    OF  SITING  BULL 

Mr.  Hawley  said  that  the  Secretary  of  War  had 
sent  a  communication  asking  for  authority  to  dis 
tribute  arms  to  the  Governors  of  the  States  where 
Indian  hostilities  were  feared. 

Mr.  Allison  spoke  of  a  question  by  Mr.  Reagan 
as  a  pertinent  one.  Why,  he  asked,  had  there  been 
no  communication  from  the  Executive  Department 
respecting  the  question  ?  He  took  it  that  the  reason 
was  that  there  was  no  occasion  for  such  communica 
tion.  He  took  no  stock  whatever  in  the  suggestion 

oo 

that  the  uprising  was  caused  by  the  starvation  of 
the  Sioux.  Senators  who  believed  that  there  had 
been  any  dereliction  on  the  part  of  agents  should 

PROPOSE   AN   INVESTIGATION 

and  have  the  matter  probed  to  the  bottom.  He  did 
not  believe  it, 

Mr.  Voorhees  interpreted  Mr.  Allison's  remarks 
as  a  contradiction  of  Mr.  Foster's  statements,  and 
said  that  Mr.  Foster  was  the  peer,  in  intelligence 
and  honor,  of  any  man  in  public  life. 

Mr.  Paddock  remarked  that  Mr.  Foster  had  not 
been  in  the  Sioux  country  within  the  last  two  years. 

Mr.  Voorhees  replied  by  saying  that,  if  the 
Sioux  had  been  starved  two  years  ago,  it  was  all 
the  worse  for  Mr.  Paddock's  side  of  the  question. 
He  accepted  Governor  Foster's  statement  in  prefer 
ence  to  that  of  Mr.  Allison,  who  was  necessarily  ig 
norant  of  the  question. 

Mr.  Allison — When  it  comes  I  shall  be  ready 
for  it 


AND    THE  INDIAN   WAR.  535 

Mr.  Voorhees — Yes. 

Mr.  Allison — What  I  meant  to  say  was  this : 
That  if  the  statements  are  true  that  these  Indians 
have  been  starving,  then  those  who  believe  so 
should  invite  an  inquiry.  I  have  not  been  on  the 
reservation,  and  know  nothing  respecting  the  truth 
or  falsity  of  the  statement. 

Mr.  Voorhees — But  you  declare  with  great  earn 
estness  that  you  do  not  believe  a  word  that  Gov 
ernor  Foster  has  said  on  this  subject.  The  Com 
mittee  on  Indian  Affairs  can  summon  him  by 
telegraph  and  can  examine  and  cross-examine  him. 
That  is  the  way  to  get  at  the  facts  of  the  case. 
Governor  Foster  says  in  this  interview:  "Sitting 
Bull  is  only  a  feeble  old  man  hardly  respected  in 
his  tribe,"  and  yet  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts 
seems  to  lay  the  whole  blame  on  him. 

Mr.  Dawes — Gen.  Miles  told  me,  the  last  thing 
before  he  took  the  cars,  that  Sitting  Bull  was  the 

GREATEST   INDIAN  THAT  HAS  LIVED 

in  this  country. 

Mr.  Voorhees — Why  not  send  for  Gen.  Miles 
and  have  him  before  the  Committee  on  Indian  Af 
fairs  ? 

Mn  Dawes — Gen.  Miles  has  no  personal  knowl 
edge  on  the  subject  of  the  uprising  of  the  Sioux. 
He  had  been  on  the  Pacific  Coast  for  the  last  two 
or  three  years,  and  has  come  to  his  new  assignment 
very  lately.  Governor  Foster  got  all  his  informa 
tion  on  the  subject  of  the  Sioux  a  year  and  a  half  ago. 


536  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

Mr.  Voorhees  read  some  further  extracts  from 
the  Foster  interview,  and  then,  referring  to  Mr. 
Dawes'  criticism  of  the  newspapers,  said  :  "  I  thank 
God  for  newspaper  men,  especially  in  dark  places, 
and  to  every  newspaper  man  who  has  thrown  a  sin 
gle  ray  of  light  on  this  miserable  business  I  return 
my  heart-felt  and  profound  thanks.  Newspaper 
men  may  get  things  wrong  sometimes,  but  in  the 
main,  in  the  great  volume  of  what  they  do,  they  con 
tribute  to  the  light  and  knowledge  of  the  world  and 
to  the  cause  of  justice.  That  is  what  I  have  to  say 
to  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts  in  reference  to 
his  criticism  of  newspaper  men. 

After  remarks  by  Messrs.  Stewart,  Vest,  and 
Morgan,  the  joint  resolution  was  amended  so  as  to 
apply  to  the  States  of  North  and  South  Dakota, 
Wyoming,  and  Nebraska,  and  was  passed 


CHAPTER  XL. 

THE    INDIAN    BUREAU. 

SHALL  IT  BE  UNDER  CIVIL  OR  MILITARY  CONTROL  ? — RECORD  OF  THE 
ARMY — GENERAL  GRANT'S  EXPERIMENT — IMPROVEMENT  IN  ADMINIS 
TRATION — CENSUS  OF  THE  INDIANS — MANY  INDIANS  CIVILIZED  AND 
PROSPEROUS. 

Another  topic  that  was  much  discussed  was 
whether  the  Indian  Bureau  should  remain  in  the  In 
terior  Department  or  be  transferred  to  the  War 
.Department.  The  transfer  was  strongly  urged  by 
the  "  army  circle  "  at  Washington.  Years  before, 
the  Indians  had  been  under  the  control  of  the  War 
Department,  and  the  army  never  had  forgiven  the 
transfer  of  it  to  the  Interior,  and  had  never  lost  a 
chance  to  urge  that  it  be  given  back  to  them. 

On  this  occasion  they  argued  that  if  the  Indians 
were  placed 

UNDER    MILITARY   CONTROL 

wars  would  be  prevented,  and  scandals  arising  from 
dishonest  administration  would  be  known  no  more. 
In  this,  however,  they  did  not  argue  wisely.  As  a 
matter  of  historical  fact,  the  entire  Indian  frontier, 
from  the  Seminole  country,  in  Florida,  to  the  gr«%at 


53? 


538  LIFE    OF  SITTING  BULL 

Western  rivers  and  lakes,  was  frequently  disturbed 
by  Indian  hostilities,  usually  the  result  of  the  en 
croachment  of  white  settlers,  but  sometimes  of 
causes  for  which  officers  of  the  War  Department 
were  more  or  less  directly  responsible,  during  the 
entire  period  of  military  control  after  the  last  war 
with  Great  Britain  ;  and  more  than  once  in  that 
period  was  the  good  fame  of  the  military  branch  of 
the  Government  tarnished  by  bad  conduct  on  the 
part  of  some  of  its  officers  and  agents.  No  intelli 
gent  man  will  contend  that  the  power  and  the 
morals  of  the  army  and  its  agents  are  stronger  or 
better  now  than  they  were  in  the  "good  old  days  " 
to  which  reference  has  been  made.  There  were 
good  and  valid  reasons  for  the  transfer  of  Indian 
affairs  from  the  War  Department,  in  which  the  con 
trol  had  so  long  resided,  to  the  civil  branch  of  the. 
Government — reasons  which  are  as  cogent  now  as 
they  were  when  the  transfer  was  made. 

THE   INDIAN   TREATY   SYSTEM 

became  firmly  established  as  a  Government  policy 
during  the  period  of  military  control.  It  was  en 
tered  upon,  it  is  true,  when  the  Indian  tribes  of  the 
South  and  what  was  then  the  great  but  sparsely 
settled  West  were  relatively  a  thousand  times  more 
powerful  than  they  now  are ;  when  hostile  foreign 
influences  dominated  most  of  the  tribes  from  Ohio 
westward,  when  Pontiac  and  Tecumseh  loomed  like 
giants  on  the  western  horizon,  and  long  before  the 
battle  of  Tippecanoe  had  been  fought.  Nobody 


AND    THE   INDIAN   WAR.  539 

criticised  the  policy  then,  and  the  Interior  Depart 
ment  ought  not  to  be  held  responsible  for  its  exist 
ence  now.  Indeed,  the  civil  administration  deserved 
credit  for  a  change  of  policy  in  1854,  which  resulted 
in  a  large  number  of  treaties  in  which,  for  the  first 
time,  provisions  were  incorporated  for  the  allotment 
of  lands  in  severalty  and  for  the  employment  of 
other  means  and  agencies  designed  to  civilize  and 
influence  Indians  to  engage  in  peaceful  pursuits. 
It  is  true  that  these  provisions  were  greatly  neg 
lected  through  a  series  of  years,  during  four  of 
which  the  energies  of  the  nation  were  devoted  to  its 
preservation.  It  is  not  more  deplorable  that  some 

INDIAN  AGENTS  AND  SUPERINTENDENTS  BECAME  DE 
MORALIZED 

in  the  war  period  than  that  scores  of  army  quar 
termasters,  paymasters,  commissioners,  and  officers 
of  still  higher  rank  were  accused  and  found  guilty 
of  dishonesty  and  fraud,  or  that  some  army  officers 
in  the  first  few  years  after  the  war  were  detected 
in  violations  of  the  trusts,  both  military  and  civil, 
which  were  committed  to  them.  It  may  be  remem 
bered  that  when  Gen.  Grant  became  President 
of  the  United  States,  in  1869,  he  determined  to 
purify  the  Administration  of  Indian  affairs.  To  that 
end  he  appointed  as  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs 
an  accomplished  officer  who  had  been  a  member  of 
his  personal  staff  during  the  war,  who  was  the  titu 
lar  chief  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  a  man  in  whom  he 
reposed  the  most  perfect  confidence.  At  the  same 


540  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

time  he  detailed  for  duty  as  Indian  agents  a  number 
of  officers  of  the  regular  army.  It  may  be  remem 
bered  also  that  after  two  years'  trial,  the  experiment 
was  abandoned.  President  Grant,  apparently,  was 

NOT  SATISFIED  WITH  THE  RESULTS. 

Before  that  time  the  Indian  frontier  had  been  vir 
tually  destroyed  and  white  settlers  had  poured  into 
and  over  the  immense  region  of  which  during  the 
entire  period  of  War  Department  control  of  Indian 
affairs  the  savage  tribes  had  been  left  in  unmolested 
occupation,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  small  and 
scattered  trading  posts ;  the  difficulties  of  Indian 
administration  had  increased  tenfold,  and  the  num. 
ber  of  Indians  with  whom  the  agents  of  the  Govern 
ment  had  to  deal  directly  had  greatly  increased  also. 
Since  1871  there  has  been  a  steady  if  not  rapid 
improvement  in  the  management  of  Indian  affairs, 
and  the  Indians  themselves  have  been  responsive, 
in  a  visible  degree,  to  the  efforts  in  behalf  of  their 
civilization.  According  to  the  returns  of  the  eleventh 
census,  more  than  35,000  Indians  in  the  United 
States  to-day  are  taxed  citizens,  counted  in  the 
general  population.  This  does  not  include  nearly 
65,000  members  of  the 

FIVE  CIVILIZED  TRIBES 

in  Indian  Territory  more  than  8,000  Pueblo  Indians 
in  New  Mexico,  nearly  3,000  Cherokees  in  North 
Carolina,  and  more  than  5,000  Iroquois  in  the 
State  of  New  York.  In  addition  to  these,  there  are 


AND  THE  LVDIAA   WAR.  543 

at  least  45,000  Indians  on  the  reservations  who 
obtain  a  livelihood  by  farming,  herding  horses,  and 
sheep- raising,  and  other  civilized  pursuits.  These 
figures  make  an  aggregate  of  161,000,  which  is  con 
siderably  larger  than  the  aggregate  Indian  popula 
tion  with  which  the  War  Department  ever  had 
directly  to  deal. 

In  the  light  of  the  figures  above  given,  it  will  not 
do  to  say  that  the  civil  administration  of  Indian 
affairs  has  been  a  failure;  nor  will  it  do,  in  the  light 
of  history,  to  assert  that  military  control  is  to  be 
preferred  to  civil  control.  According  to  the  census 
of  1890,  the 

TOTAL  INDIAN  POPULATION 

of  the  United  States  is  844,704,  which  is  made 
up  as  follows:  On  reservations  or  in  schools  under 
control  of  the  Indian  Office  not  taxed,  130,254; 
Indians  incidentally  under  the  Indian  Office  and  self- 
supporting,  are  as  follows :  In  Indian  Territory, 
25,357  are  Cherokees,  3,464  Chickasaws,  9,998 
Choctaws,  9,291  Creeks,  and  2,539  Seminoles. 
There  are  also  about  14,247  colored  people  (mixed 
Indian  blood)  living  with  and  members  of  the  above 
tribes.  The  total  population  of  the  five  civilized 
tribes  is  therefore  84,671  ;  Pueblos  of  New  Mexico, 
6,270;  Six  Nations  and  St.  Regis  of  New  York, 
5,304;  Eastern  Cherokees  of  North  Carolina, 
2,8S5.  Indians  (98  per  cent,  of  whom  are  not  on 
reservations),  taxed  and  self-sustaining  citizens, 
counted  in  general  in  Montana,  35,287  ;  Apaches 


544    LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL  AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR. 

at  Mt.  Vernon  Barracks  (prisoners),  37;  Indians 
in  State  or  Territorial  prisons,  184;  total,  53,373. 
The  census  further  shows:  Total  males  taxed 
and  untaxed,  80,715.  Total  males  untaxed  and  on 
reservations,  63,780.  Total  females  taxed  and  un 
taxed,  62,106.  Total  females  untaxed  and  on  reser 
vations,  66,484.  Ration  Indians  on  reservations  to 
whom  rations  are  issued  by  the  United  States, 
32,310. 

SELF-SUPPORTING  INDIANS 

on  reservations  by  farming,  herding,  root-digging, 
horse-raising,  fishing,  and  hunting,  96,044.  Total 
self-supporting  Indians  (33,567  taxed  and  not  in 
cluding  the  five  civilized  tribes),  128,611.  The 
number  of  whites  on  the  several  reservations  in  the 
Indian  Territory  aggregates  107,987,  as  follows :  In 
Cherokee  Nation  27,176,  in  Chickasaw  Nation 
49,444,  in  Choctaw  Nation  97,991,  in  Seminole  Na 
tion  96,  in  Creek  Nation  3,280. 


DOG  DANCE  OF  THE  SIOUX. 


__ (_ 1 — 9~l '  '    '  I 1 ~H Ki  ~-«m 


CHIPPEWA  SCALP  DANCE. 


THE  notes  marked  thus,  =»  are  performed  with  a  tremulous  voice» 
sounded :    "  High  -yi-yi, "  &c. 


CHAPTER   XLI. 

DOCUMENTS  IN  THE  CASE. 

GENERAL  MILES'  ADDRESS  TO  His  SOLDIERS  ON  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR — 
AN  OFFICIAL  OUTLINE  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN — REGRET  FOR  FALLEN  COM 
RADES — THANKS  FOR  EFFICIENT  SERVICE — LETTERS  FROM  A  MISSIONARY 

AND  FROM  A  BlSHOP. 

Soon  after  the  return  of  the  Indians  to  the  Pine 
Ridge  Agency,  General  Miles  issued  an  address  to 

ADDRESS  TO  THE  TROOPS. 

the  troops,  congratulating  them  on  the  close  of  the 
war,  as  follows : 

"  Headquarters  Division  of  the  Missouri, 
"In  the  field,  Pine  Ridge,  S.  D.,  Jan.  18,  1891, 
"  General  Orders,  No.  2. 

"The  Division  Commander  takes  pleasure  in  an 
nouncing  the  satisfactory  termination  of  hostilities 
in  this  division.  The  disaffection  among  the  Indians 
was  widespread,  involving  many  different  tribes. 
The  purpose  of  the  conspiracy  was  to  produce  a 
general  uprising  of  all  the  Indians  in  the  coming 
Spring.  The  hostile  element  of  the  Sioux  Nation 
precipitated  the  movement  by  leaving  their  agencies, 
546 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  547 

defying  the  authorities  of  the  Government,  and 
destroying  their  property,  that  had  been  given  them 
for  the  purpose  of  civilization.  They  assembled 
in  large  force  in  the  almost  impenetrable  ground 
known  as  the  Mauvais  Terres  of  South  Dakota,  and 
from  that  rendezvous  marauding  parties  robbed 
both  white  citizens  and  friendly  Indians  on  their  res 
ervation  and  throughout  the  adjacent  settlements. 

CHECK  THIS  INSURRECTION. 

To  check  this  insurrection,  orders  were  given  iorthe 
arrest  of  the  chief  conspirator,  Sitting  Bull,  who  was 
on  the  eve  of  leaving  his  reservation  to  join  those 
above  mentioned.  This  was  done  on  the  I4th  of 
December  last.  After  peaceably  submitting  to 
arrest  by  the  officials  of  the  Government,  he  created 
a  revolt  which  brought  to  his  assistance  large  num 
bers  of  his  followers,  who  assailed  the  Indian  police. 
This  resulted  in  his  death,  and  final  arrest  of  300  of 
his  people,  and  removed  the  principal  part  of  the 
disaffected  element  from  the  Standing  Rock  reser 
vation.  The  second  arrest  was  that  of  Big  Foot's 
party,  December  21,  1890.  This  band  was  com 
posed  of  outlaws  from  different  tribes,  who  had 
defied  the  Govern inent  officials,  and  escaped  during 
December  22,  1890. 

"  While  these  measures  were  being  carried  into 
execution,  the  troops  were  quickly  moved  between 

PROTECTION  TO  LIFE  AND  PROPERTY. 

the  hostile  element  in  the  stronghold  and  the  settle 
ments,  in  such  a  way  as  to  check  their  depredations 


548  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

and  give  protection  to  life  and  property  of  the  citi 
zens.  Nearly  the  entire  force  of  troops  in  the  De 
partment  of  Dakota,  under  General  Ruger,  were 
judiciously  placed  where  they  would  give  the  most 
protection  to  the  settlements  and  enable  them  to 
intercept  hostiles,  should  they  escape.  Brief  delays 
were  necessary  to  put  the  troops  in  proper  position, 
as  well  as  to  give  time  for  the  work  of  disaffection 
to  be  carried  on  in  the  hostile  camp,  and  strengthen 
the  loyal  element.  Gradually  the  troops  were  moved 
to  such  positions  as  to  render  resistance  of  the  hos 
tiles  useless,  and  they  were  forced  back  to  the 
agency.  The  escape  of  Big  Foot  made  his  recap 
ture  necessary.  This  was  successfully  done  by  a 
batallion  of  the  yth  Calvary  and  Lieutenant  Haw 
thorne's  detachment  of  artillery  under  Major  White- 
side,  December  28,  1890,  after  which  they  were 
marched  seven  miles  to  Wounded  Knee,  and  at  9 
p.  m.  the  command  was  joined  by  Colonel  Forsyth, 
with  the  2d  Battallion  of  his  regiment,  with  two 
Hotchkissguns  under  Captain  Capron,  ist  Artillery, 
and  Lieutenant  Taylor's  scouts.  With  this  band  of 
outlaws  under  control  of  the  troops,  the  entire  hos 
tile  camp  moving  in  before  them  to  surrender  and 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  agency,  it  was  hoped 
and  expected  that  this  serious  Indian  difficulty  would 
be  brought  to  a  close  without  the  loss  of  life  of  a 
single  white  man.  While  disarming  Big  Foot's 
band,  on  the  morning  of  December  29th,  after  a  por 
tion  of  their  arms  had  been  surrendered,  they  were 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  549 

incited  to  hostility  by  the  harangues  of  one  of  their 
false  prophets,  and  in  their  attack  and  attempt  to 

INCITED  TO  HOSTILITY. 

escape  nearly  all  of  the  men  were  killed  or  wounded, 
and  the  serious  loss  of  life  occurred  to  a  large  num 
ber  of  non-combatants.  During  the  engagement, 
some  150  of  the  young  warriors  that  were  moving 
in  to  surrender,  went  to  the  assistance  of  Big  Foot's 
band  and  were  engaged  with  the  troops,  and  retu-a- 
ing,  made  a  vigorous  attack  upon  the  agency,  draw 
ing  the  fire  of  the  Indiaa  police  and  scouts.  This 
caused  a  general  alarm,  and  upwards  of  3000  Indians 
fled  from  the  agency  to  the  canons  and  broken 
ground  adjacent  to  White  Clay  Creek,  and  assumed 
a  hostile  attitude.  The  troops  that  were  following, 
however,  checked  their  further  movements.  The 
attempts  of  some  of  the  warriors  to  burn  buildings 
near  the  agency  the  following  day,  resulted  in  a  skir 
mish  with  the  /th  Calvary,  under  Colonel  Forsyth, 
promptly  supported  by  Major  Henry,  9th  Calvary. 
"On  January  i,  1891,  a  spirited  engagement 
occurred  on  White  River  between  a  body  of  war 
riors  numbering  upwards  of  100  and  Captain  Kerr's 
troops  of  the  6th  Calvary,  in  which  the  Indians  were 
repulsed  with  loss.  Major  Tupper's  battallion  of 
Colonel  Carr's  command  of  the  6th  Cavalry  moving 
to  his  support.  This  was  followed  by  several  skir 
mishes  between  the  Indians  and  the  scouts  under 
Lieutenant  Casey.  While  making  a  reconnoissance 
the  service  sustained  a  serious  loss  in  the  death  of 


550  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

that  gallant  officer.  The  troops  under  command  of 
Brigadier-General  Brooke  gradually  closed  their 
lines  of  retreat  and  forced  the  hostiles  by  superior 

UNDER  THE  GUNS  OF  THE  COMMAND. 

numbers  back  to  the  agency,  where  they  are  now 
under  the  guns  of  the  command  and  the  control  of 
the  military. 

"  While  the  service  has  sustained  the  loss  of  such 
gallant  officers  and  patriots  as  Captain  Wallace, 
Lieutenants  Casey  and  Mann,  and  the  brave  non 
commissioned  officers  and  soldiers  who  have  given 
their  lives  in  the  cause  of  good  government,  the 

MOST  GRATIFYING  RESULTS. 

most  gratifying  results  have  been  obtained  by  the 
endurance,  patience  and  fortitude  of  both  officers  and 
men.  The  work  of  disarming  the  hostiles  Has  in  a 
large  measure  been  accomplished,  but  will  be  con 
tinued  by  a  portion  of  the  command  now  in  the  field, 
and  by  the  agency  officials.  As  soon  as  practicable 
the  troops  will  return  to  their  stations,  and  will  take 
with  them  the  assurance  that  their  services  have 
been  a  great  value  to  the  country  in  suppressing 
one  of  the  most  threatening  Indian  outbreaks,  and 
that  they  have  been  enabled  to  keep  back  the  hos 
tile  Indians  from  the  unprotected  settlements  to  the 
extent  that  not  a  citizen's  life  has  been  lost  beyond 
the  boundries  of  the  Indian  reservations.  In  an 
nouncing  this  fact,  the  Div'sion  Commander  desires 
to  express  his  thanks  and  highest  appreciation  of 
the  royal  and  efficient  service  that  has  been  render- 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  551 

ed.  The  mention  of  individual  names  of  either 
officers  or  soldiers  for  meritorious  conduct  will  be 
deferred  until  sufficient  time  is  given  to  ascertain 
each  heroic  act,  in  order  that  it  may  be  properly  re 
cognized  and  duly  rewarded. 

"  H.  C.  CORBIN,  Assistant  Adjutant-General 
"By  command  of  Major-General  Miles. 

-(Official)." 

The  following  letter,  "unofficial,"  but  not  there 
fore  less  interesting,  was  written  by  Mrs.  Charles 

WIFE  OF  A  SIOUX  MINISTER. 

S.  Cook,  wife  of  a  Sioux  minister,  after  the  Wounded 
Knee  battle,  but  before  the  final  surrender: 

44  Pine  Ridge  Agency,  S.  D.,  Jan.  2,  1891. 

"  .  .  .  You  know,  through  the  papers,  of  course, 
of  the  two  battles  fought ;  how  the  first  began  while 
the  Indians  were  being  disarmed.  Our  soldiers,  not 
expecting  resistance,  had  not  separated  the  men 
from  their  families,  and  as  the  troops  were  standing 
on  three  sides  of  a  square,  the  firing  caused  a  ter 
rible  slaughter  of  women  and  children,  as  well  as 
men,  and  dreadful  to  say,  the  soldiers  killed  each 
other  as  well.  This  battle  took  place  about  eighteen 
miles  from  this  agency,  and  the  wounded  were 
brought  here,  most  of  the  Indians  being  placed  in 
our  church,  where  we  have  been  caring  for  them 
ever  since  Monday  night.  It  seems  months,  instead 
of  days,  since  they  were  brought  in ! 

"The  second  battle  was  fought  only  a  few  miles 
away,  but  was  not  disastrous  to  either  side,  though 


552  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

the  Indians  had  such  advantage  that  but  for  the  ar 
rival  of  reinforcements,  the  Seventh  Cavalry  would 
have  been  annihilated. 

"  The  whole  matter  is  heartrending  to  us  who  are 
workers  in  the  field.    It  is  surely  the  result  of  a  mis- 

A  MISTAKEN  POLICY. 

taken  policy  on  the  part  of  the  Government ;  the 
result  of  land-greediness,  the  result  of  unfulfilled 
promises,  the  result  of  supposing  the  Indians  to  be 
children,  and  treating  them  as  such.  The  ghost- 
dance  mania  is  only  a  sort  of  final  straw,  as  it  was 
really  the  thing  that  gave  the  Indians  an  outlet  for 
all  the  pent-up  emotions  of  years,  and  how  soon 
they  were  in  a  state  of  wild  frenzy,  and  kept  them 
selves  there  by  constant  dancing  and  exhorting  each 
other  to  die,  that  they  might  meet  their  dead  rela 
tions,  and  hasten  the  time  when  this  country  should 
be  their  own  again.  All  this  is  old  to  you  now,  for 
it  has  been  told  and  retold  in  the  papers.  When  we 
try  to  look  forward  to  the  end  we  are  sick  at  heart, 
for  no  one  can  tell  what  the  end  will  be.  We  only 

WHAT  THE  END  WILL  BE. 

know  that  the  Indians  must  yield  in  time,  but  before 
that  many  men  must  die,  and  the  Indians  must  begin 
"civilization  "  all  over  again,  if  there  are  any  left  to 
begin. 

"So  far  the  Christian  Indians  have  remained 
friendly,  and  are  living  in  "  tepees "  around  the 
agency.  They  are  more  or  less  alarmed,  naturally, 
knowing  the  hostile  Indians  will  b©  harder  on  them 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR. 

than  on  the  whites  even  ;  for  the  hostiles  are  their 
fathers,  brothers,  sons  and  other  relatives,  and  it  is 
really  wonderful  that  they  stand  as  firm  as  they  do. 
All  our  native  helpers,  Mr.  Ross  and  the  catechists, 
have  been  invaluable  in  caring  for  the  wounded.  We 

CARING  FOR  THE  WOUNDED. 

have  fifteen  women  and  children  in  the  church  and 
fourteen  in  a  tent  near  the  soldiers'  hospital  tent. 
Miss  Goodale,  who  most  fortunately  is  with  us,  and 
two  other  ladies,  are  most  indefatigable  in  their  labors, 
cooking  food  and  attending  to  the  wounded.  I  never 
saw,  and  never  dreamed  of  seeing,  such  an  awful 
sight  as  these  prisoners  presented  the  night  they 
were  brought  in.  I  know  now  what  is  meant  by 
"gaping  wounds"  and  "destitute  condition."  You 
know  the  number  killed  and  wounded,  I  suppose — 
twenty-eight  soldiers  killed  and  thirty-eight  wounded  ; 
twenty-eight  Indians  killed  and  about  1 30  men  wound 
ed,  and  numbers  of  women  and  children.  The  wound 
ed  Indians  were  all  women  and  children  except  four. 
"  Mr.  Cook  officiated  at  the  burial  of  the  soldiers 

BURIAL  OF  THE  SOLDIERS. 

on  Wednesday.  They  were  placed  in  our  cemetery 
temporarily.  We  expect  Bishop  Hare  to-morrow 
for  a  few  days*  stay.  We  shall  be  glad  to  have  his 
wise  help  and  cheerful  face.  We  do  not  think  we 
are  now  in  personal  danger.  Two  nights,  Monday 
and  Tuesday,  the  troops  were  somewhat  scattered 
and  we  slept  in  our  clothes  (the  few  hours  that  we 
slept  at  all),  expecting  an  attack  on  the  agency, 


554  L TFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

which  would  have  been  a  very  serious  thing,  as  the 
agency  was  not  well  protected,  especially  on  Monday 
night.  Now,  new  troops  are  here  for  the  especial 
purpose  of  protecting  the  agency,  leaving  the  other 
forces  free  to  meet  the  Indians  outside.  Troops  are 
surrounding  the  Indians  and  approaching  them  more 
closely  all  the  time.  We  have  had  no  winter  yet, 
which  is  favorable  to  the  Indians. 

"  Our  Christmas  Day  services  were  attended  by 

OUR  CHRISTMAS  DAY  SERVICES. 

large  congregations  and  the  responses  and  singing 
were  as  inspiring  as  they  always  are.  That  evening 
and  Friday  and  Saturday  evenings,  the  Christmas 
tree  was  filled  with  gifts,  and  five  congregations  re 
ceived  their  presents.  We  intended  to  give  the  first 
three  evenings  of  this  week  to  the  remaining  eight 
congregations,  but,  of  course,  all  our  plans  had  to 
be  changed. 

"  We  have  been  so  thankful  for  the  warm  clothing, 
of  which  a  great  deal  has  been  sent  us,  and  which 
has  been  given  to  our  own  people  and  also  to  the 
wounded  Indians,  who  had  nothing.  At  present  all 
is  confusion.  Our  house  is  a  centre  for  both  white 
and  red  people,  and  we  have  no  leisure  moments  ex 
cept  such  as  are  stolen  from  duty  or  sleep.  Remem 
ber  me  always  in  your  prayers." 

This  letter  from    Bishop  Hare,    of  Niobrara,    is 

LETTER  FROM  BISHOP  HARE. 

also  of  interest,  as  showing  some  effects  of  Church 
work  among  the  redmen  : 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  555 

"  Nine  Sioux  Indians,  nobly  working  in  the 
sacred  ministry !  About  forty  Sioux  Indians  help 
ing  them  as  licensed  catechists  !  Forty  branches  of 
the  Women's  Auxiliary  among  the  Sioux  Indian 
women !  Seventeen  hundred  Sioux  Indian  com 
municants  !  Sioux  Indians  contributing  $3,000  an 
nually  for  religious  purposes!  But  what  impression 
have  all  these  solemn  but  cheering  facts  made  upon 
the  public  mind,  as  compared  with  the  wild  antics  of 

WILD  ANTICS  OF  THE   HEATHEN. 

the  heathen  Sioux  Indians,  which  have  excited  the 
attention  and  stirred  the  feelings  of  the  country, 
and  daily  occupied  column  after  column  of  the  news 
papers  for  two  weeks  past  ?  Alas  !  Alas  !  As  we  have 
written  elsewhere,  wickedness  presents  more  vivid 
contrasts  than  virture  does,  its  history  is  more  pictur- 
esque>  and  has  more  of  the  element  of  the  unexpected. 

"  The  final  outcome  is  yet  to  appear.  But  two  or 
three  possible  issues  ought  to  be  guarded  against, 

"  First.  The  ringleaders  of  this  disturbance, 
which  has  alarmed  the  whole  Northwest,  covered  the 
better  Indians  with  shame,  brought  scorn  upon 
their  essays  of  civilization,  robbed  many  of  them 
of  their  hard-earned  possessions  and  exposed  them 
to  personal  peril,  should  not  be  left  at  liberty  here 
after  to  repeat  the  baneful  operation. 

"  Had  several  Indians  whom  we  could  name  be^n 
consigned  to  Fort  Marion  or  Fortress  Monroe 
shortly  after  the  Custer  affair,  we  should  not  hat  e 
the  present  complication  to  untangle. 


1556  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

"  Not  to  speak  of  alarm  and  losses  suffered 
by  the  whites,  it  is  not  satisfactory  after  years  of 
patient  labor  to  read,  as  is  credibly  reported  from 
Pine  Ridge  Reserve  :  '  Much  destruction  of  prop 
erty  and  cattle  has  been  going  on  for  days.  All 
the  houses  of  the  quiet  Indians  on  the  two  branches 
of  the  Medicine  Root,  Porcupine  Tail  and  Wounded 
Knee  Creeks  have  been  broken  into,  entered  and 
robbed  of  all  contents ;  the  school-houses  the  same. 
Everything  else  which  was  of  no  use  to  the  maraud 
ing  Indians,  was  destroyed  and  scattered  in  every 
direction.  The  catechists'  houses,  those  not  stand 
ing  near  the  chapels,  have  met  with  the  same  fate  as 
the  rest.  Charley  Turning-hawk,  the  catechist,  had 
quite  a  store ;  a  small  bag  of  salt  was  all  that  was 
left.  The  catechists,  Silas  Opegila,  Henry  Red 
Shirt,  Thomas  Tyon,  for  certainty,  are  among  the 
sufferers  ;  they  have  nothing  left.' 

*  Second.     In  dealing  with  these  evil-doers,   let 

NO  MERE  REVENGE. 

there  be  no  mere  revenge,  much  less  indiscriminate 
revenge.  This  has  not  been  indulged  in  in  the  past, 
and  it  will  be  noticed  that  Mr.  Ashley,  in  his  graphic 
narrative,  reports  that  the  friendly  Indians  have 
already  fear  of  its  repetition.  He  writes:  'They 
fear,  however,  that  in  the  event  of  any  trouble, 
their  ponies  will  be  taken  from  them,  whether  inno 
cent  or  guilty,  as  was  done  once  before,  and  they 
ought  to  be  assured  of  protection.' 

"  Years  ago  indiscriminate  punishment  might  be 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  557 

apologized  for,  on  the  ground  that  the  Indians  were 
not  individually  well  enough  known  to  make  discri 
mination  possible,  and  there  was  therefore  no  re 
course  in  military  operations  but  to  make  a  general 
seizure  of  all  Indian  ponies  and  guns,  and  to  other 
wise  treat  the  Indians,  innocent  or  guilty,  all  alike. 
No  such  pretext  can  have  place  now.  The  names 
of  all  Indians  are  down  on  agency  lists.  Indians 
are  known  individually  to  teachers,  missionaries  and 
agents. 

DISCRIMINATION. 

"  Discrimation  is  therefore  quite  practicable.  It  will 
be  an  event  in  Indian  life  of  vast  and  far- 
reaching  influence  for  good  if,  after  this  outbreak, 
the  Indians  discover  that  the  power  which  bears  the 
sword  will  do  it'  for  the  punishment  of  evil-doers, 
and  for  the  praise  of  them  that  do  well.' 

"  Third.  Let  good  sense  and  Christian  charity 
arrest  the  tendency  which  this  outbreak  of  wild  pas 
sion  will  naturally  have  to  dampen  interest  in  Indian 
missionary  and  educational  work,  and  to  produce 
the  feeling  that  such  work  has  been  in  vain.  It  is 
surely  a  fact  of  vast  import  that,  as  is  said  elsewhere: 

"  '  Settlers  have  fled,  not  so  much  because  of  real 
dangers,  as  because  of  their  fears,  and  while  they 
have  been  fleeing,  some  white  women  in  Indian 
camps  have  been  pursuing  their  work  without 
molestation  and  without  alarm.  I  have  visited  several 
Indian  agencies,  and  have  late  news  from  all  the 
Sioux  Indian  country,  but  I  have  yet  to  learn  of  a 


558  T. IFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

single  case  of  insult,  much  less  of  violence,  offered 
to  any  teacher  or  missionary  in  any  of  the  fifty  odd 
stations  scattered  all  over  the  disturbed  districts  in 
South  Dakota.' 

"  And  so  far  as  we  have  information,  the  Indian 
clergy  and  helpers  have  stood  the  revival  all  about 
them  of  wild  life  without  flinching,  like  an  anvil  when 
struck. 

LIKE  AN  ANVIL  WHEN  STRUCK. 

"  Their  terrible  trials  and  faithfulness  in  them  are 
surely  a  graphic  argument  that  we  should  do  more 
than  ever  to  sustain  them,  and  an  assurance  to  us 
that,  if  we  do  our  duty  we  can  make  others  like 
them. 

"The  testimony  which  comes  from  the  Pine  Ridge 
Reserve  shows  that  there  is  something  in  the  work 
of  the  Church  which  the  wild  Indian,  even  when  bent 
on  plunder,  respects,  '  A  curious  and  suggestive 
feature  of  this  universal  plundering  and  destruc 
tion,'  writes  the  Rev.  C.  S.  Cook,  'is  the  evident 
intentional  sparing  of  the  chapels  and  the  adjacent 
mission  houses :  not  one  of  them  has  been  touched. " 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

INDIAN    EDUCATION. 

VIEWS  OF  CAPTAIN  R.  H.  PRATT  OF  THE  CARLISLE  INDIAN  SCHOOL — YOUNG 
INDIANS  EDUCATED  THERE  DO  NOT  RETURN  TO  BARBARISM — VERY  FEW 

CASES  WHERE  TRAINING  HAS  NOT  HAD  PERMANENTLY  GOOD  RESULTS 

GROWTH  OF  CIVILIZATION  AMONG  THE  INDIANS — URGENT  NEED  THAT  THE 
TRIBAL  SYSTEM  BE  ABOLISHED. 

Not  many  men  in  the  United  States  have,  studied 
the  Indian  question  in  all  its  phrases  more  carefully 
or  more  practically,  than  Captain  R.  H.  Pratt,  the 
head  of  the  Indian  school  at  Carlisle,  Penn.,  and  his 
studies  have  been  supplemented  by  a  personal  knowl 
edge  of  Indians,  that  makes  his  opinion  on  all  mat 
ters  relating  to  the  race,  of  great  value.  The  Cap 
tain  is  not  only  a  man  of  great  executive  ability,  with 
a  clear  idea  of  what  should  be  done  for  the  Indian, 
but  also  courageous  in  expressing  his  views.  He 
has  not  always  found  himself  able  to  agree  with 
others  who  have  the  interest  of  the  Indian  at  heart ; 
but  on  all  such  occasions  he  has  said  so  fairly  and 
squarely.  But,  whatever  may  be  thought  of  some 
of  his  views,  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  has  done  a 
noble  work  in  the  education  of  the  Indian  race,  and 


560  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

that  he  has  earned  the  right  to  a  respectful  hearing 
when  he  has  anything  to  say  on  the  Indian  question. 
When  the  Indian  troubles  were  at  their  height,  in 
December,  1890,  Captain  Pratt  talked  at  some  length 
with  a  correspondent  of  The  New  York  Tribune, 
about  the  war  and  the  Messiah  craze,  and  about  in- 
dian  education.  "  First  of  all,"  he  said,  "I  want  to 
say  a  word  about  the  often-made  statement,  that  the 
Indian  boys  educated  at  this  school,  nearly  all  re- 

RELAPSE   INTO   BARBARISM. 

lapse  into  barbarism.  This  statement  is  almost  en 
tirely  without  truth.  There  are  relapses,  but  the 
proportion  is  not  great.  During  the  last  week,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Hubbard,  a  missionary  among  the  Indians 
in  the  Indian  Territory,  for  the  last  eighteen  years, 
spent  a  day  with  me  here.  He  stated  that  he  knew 
upward  of  sixty  of  our  returned  students,  and  saw 
some  of  them  every  day,  and  that  he  knew  of  only 
one  failure  or  relapse  in  the  whole  number.  He  is, 
however,  a  zealous  friend  of  our  cause,  and  probably 
would  not  see  with  as  critical  eyes  as  an  enemy.  We 
have  scores  of  students  throughout  the  reservations 
who  are  doing,  most  excellent  work  in  the  face  of  the 

DOING   MORE  EXCELLENT  WORK. 

greatest  difficulty,  teaching  school,  farming,  working 
at  their  trades,  and  a  large  number  form  the  best 
element  in  the  force  of  scouts  under  the  military  and 
police  forces  for  the  agencies.  They  furnish  most 
of  the  non-commissioned  officers. 

"This  morning  I  am  in  receipt  of  an  interesting 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  561 

letter  from  Bird  C.  Se.vard,  a  full-blood  Cheyenne, 
•who  was  with  us  less  than  three  years,  and  returned 
to  his  home  on  account  of  rheumatism.  It  is  one  of 
the  letters  I  receive  almost  daily  from  returned 
students." 

The  Captain  believes  strongly  in  the  policy  of  not 
sending  the  Indian  boys  back  to  their  tribes,  but  of 
keeping  them  in  the  East.  "Just  read  these  letters, 
written  by  Richard  Davis  of  West  Grove,  Penn.," 
he  said,  "and  they  will  show  you  how  much  like  our- 

HOW  MUCH  LIKE    OURSELVES. 

selves  the  Indian  is.  He  speaks  of  his  work  on  the 
farm,  his  desire  to  put  away  a  little  money  for  a 
rainy  day,  tells  whom  he  intended  to  vote  for,  and 
refers  to  his  wife  and  children,  just  as  any  average 
white  farmer  would,  only  in  better  language,  for  he 
is  well  educated.  Now,  who  is  Richard  Davis?  Well 
he  is  a  Cheyenne  boy  who  belonged  to  the  hostile 
Cheyennes  whom  we  fought  in  1874  .and  1875,  and 
who  with  his  father  and  people,  I,  with  others,  under 
Generals  Davidson  and  Mackenzie,  chased  and 
fought  over  the  western  part  of  the  Indian  Territory. 
After  eight  years  with  us,  this  young  man  married  a 
Pawnee  girl,  and  went  into  the  employ  of  Mr. 
Harvey,  of  West  Grove,  Penn.,  and  he  has  his 
little  home,  his  wife  and  two  children.  He  takes 

HAS   HIS   LITTLE   HOME, 

care  of  Mr.  Harvey's  dairy,  supplying  Mr.  Wana- 
maker's  great  store  in  Philadelphia  with  about 
eighty  quarts  of  cream  daily.  As  to  his  care  of  the 


562  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

stock  and  his  performance  of  the  duties  intrusted  to 
him,  you  can  see  in  this  letter  what  his  employer 
says.  I  have  plenty  of  like  cases  I  could  show  you 
among  our  farmers,  not  only  Cheyennes,  but  Sioux, 
Apaches,  Navajos,  Comanches,  Pawnees,  Kiowas, 
and  others  belonging  to  our  most  backward  tribes. 
"  If  you  will  examine  carefully  the  results  of  edu 
cating  Indian  children  at  home,  and  compare  them 
with  the  results  in  the  oldest  and  best  schopls  that 
have  been  established,  you  will  greatly  modify  your 
views  in  regard  to  the  possibilities  of  that  sort  of 
thing.  To  the  casual  observer  it  appears  to  be  a 
good  thing,  but  the  results  in  no  case  that  I  know  of 
have  been  at  all  commensurate  with  the  outlay  of 
time  and  labor.  No  spirit  of  American  citizenship  or 

SPIRIT  OF  AMERICAN  CITIZENSHIP. 

individuality  and  independence  has  been  generated. 
The  results  in  every  case  have  been  simply  to  pro 
duce,  as  I  said  in  my  report,  a  so-called  nation  out 
of  the  tribe." 

"Do  you  care,  Captain,"  asked  the  correspond 
ent,  "to  express  any  opinion  as  to  the  cause  of  the 
present  dissatisfaction  of  the  Indians?  " 

"  Certainly,"  he  promptly  replied.  "The  Mes 
siah  craze  is  the  natural  result  of  the  present  reser 
vation  and  tribal  surroundings.  From  a  life  of 
activity  in  the  chase,  and  almost  unlimited  freedom  in 
roaming  and  war,  the  Indians  have  been  crowded 
into  a  condition  of  enforced  idleness  on  the  reserva 
tions.  Day  after  day  around  their  camp-fires  they 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  563 

talk  of  their  past,  simply  because  there  is  little  or 
no  future  for  them  to  talk  about.  The  frequently 

ENFORCED  IDLENESS  ON  THE  RESERVATIONS. 

changed,  almost  infinitesimal  and  ignorant,  inex 
perienced  forces  which  the  Government  and  the 
Church  bring  to  bear  upon  them  through  agents  and 
employes  and  missionaries,  disturb  little  the  onward 
flow  of  their  superstition  and  savage  rites.  Civiliza 
tion,  like  corn  and  other  grains  is  purely  a  crop 
raised  by  planting  and  cultivation,  and  the  quality  of 
the  planting  and  the  thoroughness  of  the  cultivation, 
determine  the  crop.  Any  farmer  planting  only  ten 
grains  of  corn  or  half  a  pint  of  wheat  to  the  acre 
and  demanding  a  yield  of  100  bushels  of  the  one 
and  forty  of  the  other  per  acre  would  be  insane. 
By  his  scant  planting,  he  invites  weeds  to  grow  and 
choke  what  he  does  plant.  Are  we  any  wiser  in  our 
scant  planting  of  industry,  education  and  civilization 
among  the  Indians  ?  When  I  studied  geography,  all 
of  Kansas  and  Nebraska  was  designated  as  the 
great  American  Desert.  What  a  tremendous  lie  it 
was  !  From  my  experience,  under  proper  influ 
ences,  the  alleged  desert  character  of  ihe  Indian 
will  as  significantly  fade  away. 

"The  Messiah  delusion  flourishes  only  in  the  soil 

THE  MESSIAH  DELUSION. 

of  superstition.  The  old,  who  have  held  on  either 
openly  or  secretly  to  the  past,  and  have  longings  for 
its  return,  are  the  principal  ones  affected  by  it.  The 
crude  notions  they  have  received  in  regard  to 


564  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

Christianity  have  been  utilized  by  their  superstitious 
tendencies,  and  they  hope  for  miracles.  The  dis 
appointments  they  will  suffer  in  not  seeing  the  ful 
filment  of  their  desires  and  promises  of  their 
prophets  will  work  the  best  cure.  I  have  been  in 
clined  to  think,  and  still  think,  that  designing  white 
men  have  inaugurated  and  have  added  much  to  the 
spread  of  the  craze." 

"  Are  you  willing  to  say,  Captain,  in  what  respects, 
if  any,  you  think  the  policy  of  the  Government 
toward  the  Indians  should  be  modified  or  changed?" 

"  I  most  emphatically  think  that  the  tribal  relations 
should  be  broken  up,"  replied  Captain  Pratt.  "  So 
do  others  who  candidly  study  the  Indian  problem. 
But  what  is  the  use  of  talking  about  breaking  up 

BREAKING  UP  TRIBAL  RELATIONS. 

tribal  relations  of  the  Indians  when  we  are  continu 
ally  bringing  to  bear  old  systems,  or  organizing  new 
systems  calculated  to  confirm  and  strengthen  tribal 
relations?  1  look  upon  General  Morgan's  public 
school  system  for  the  tribes  as  being  one  of  the  most 
potent  instruments  ever  used  to  accomplish  the 
building  up  and  strengthening  of  the  tribal  relations. 
I  have  no  desire  to  antagonize  the  Commissioner. 
I  say  nothing  to  you  here,  nor  have  I  said  anything 
in  my  report,  which  I  have  not  said  to  him  in  a 
much  stronger  way,  personally,  when  we  have  met ; 
and  if  you  read  the  proceedings  of  the  Lake 
Mohonk  Conference  for  1889,  you  will  find  that 
when  he  presented  his  public  school  system  there, 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  565 

which  the  conference  adopted,  I  antagonized  it  just 
as  I  have  in  my  report,  and  as  I  always  have  antag 
onized  that  idea.  With  the  775  children  at  Carlisle, 
I  am  strong,  because  they  speak  forty-seven  differ- 

FORTY-SEVEN  DIFFERENT  LANGUAGES. 

ent  languages,  and  there  is  little  difficulty  in  getting 
them  to  unite  on  English.  If  they  were  all  Sioux  or 
Cheyenne,  or  Apaches,  the  progress  would  be  far 
less,  and  the  care  very  much  greater.  If  half  the 
students  in  this  school  were  Anglo-Saxon  and  the 
other  half  Indian,  the  progress  in  the  English  lan 
guage  and  Anglo-Saxon  ideas  for  the  Indian  portion 
would  be  advanced  100  per  cent.  ;  and  placing  one 
young  Indian  in  a  school  with  whites,  if  the  school  is 
of  the  same  grade,  forces  him  without  his  knowing 
it  to  make  still  greater  progress  than  he  could  in 
a  school  where  half  were  Indian  and  half  whites." 
A  short  time  later,  speaking  on  the  same  subject  be 
fore  the  students  of  Mt.  Holyoke  College,  Capt.  Pratt 
said :  "On  New  Years  Day  I  called  to  pay  my  re 
spects  to  the  Secretary  of  War  and  met  the  Inspector- 
General  of  the  Army,  who,  in  the  Secretary's  pres 
ence,  spoke  of  Carlisle  students  being  among  the 
ghost-dancers  ;  that  some  of  them  at  Pine.  Ridge 
were  in  a  position  to  be  shooting  soldiers.  I  replied 
that  across  the  Potomac,  in  sight  of  Washington,  was 
Arlington,  once  the  home  of  a  celebrated  and  highly 
trusted  servant  of  the  Republic,  whose  ancestry  was 
most  distinguished  and  loyal  in  the  darkest  days  of 
our  history.  He  was  educated  at  the  public  expense 


566  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

and  for  many  years  served  the  country  loyally.  In 
his  maturity,  when  his  family  and  section  declared 
against  the  government,  he  was  urged  to  remain 
true,  but  he  declined,  and  boldly  went  with  his  family 
and  led  the  forces  of  rebellion  for  four  years,  killing 
our  soldiers  by  the  thousands.  Let  us  not  find  fault, 
then,  with  a  few  young  Indian  children  to  whom  we 
give  the  merest  smattering  of  an  education,  and  send 
back  to  their  parents  and  reservation,  if  they  go 
with  their  families  and  parents  into  practices  they 
esteem  right.  These  young  men  are  not  savage 
simply  because  they  are  born  of  savage  parents. 
Savagery  and  civilization  are  habits.  Formation 

SAVAGERY  AND  CIVILIZATION  ARE  HABITS. 

or  change  of  habit  is  brought  about  by  environment. 
I  urge  that  we  environ  the  Indians  with  our  civiliza 
tion  and  they  will  become  civilized.  Leave  them  in 
the  environment  of  the  tribes  and  their  savagery, 
and  they  will  remain  tribal  and  savages.  We  are 
not  born  with  language,  or  savagery,  or  civilization. 
These  come  as  a  result  of  environment,  not  as  a 
result  of  birth.  They  are  not  forced  upon  us,  only 
during  the  period  of  growth.  A  person's  habits 
change  after  maturity.  If  we  continue  to  carefully 
guard  the  Indians  in  their  reservations  and  not  allow 
them  the  freedom  of  association  and  effort  among  us, 
that  other  people  have,  we  shall  not  lack  material 
for  Wild  West  shows  for  centuries  to  come. 

"  Over  5,000,000  immigrants  came  into  the  United 
States  between   1880  and  1890.     They  and   their 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  567 

children  are  with  us  and  part  of  us  to-day,  entering 
the  public  school  systems,  scattering  among  our 
people,  coming  into  the  environment  of  our  institu 
tions.  They  abandoned  their  language  and  became 
Americans.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
already  in  America  were  Indians  ten  years  ago,  and 
are  still  Indians  because  we  will  not  allow  them  the 

ARE  STILL  INDIANS. 

environment  of  our  American  civilization  that  we 
allow  the  others.  Suppose  these  5,000,000  foreign 
ers,  instead  of  being  scattered  over  the  country,  had 
been  sent  to  reservations,  would  they  have  made 
any  progress  in  becoming  Americans?  It  is  only 
when  we  allow  them  to  congregate  in  bodies  that 
they  give  us  any  trouble.  Scattered  and  in  contact 
with  our  own  people  they  become  of  us.  The 
policy  of  the  churches  to  create  Indian  communities, 
instead  of  inviting  the  Indian  into  our  community,  is 
at  the  bottom  of  most  of  our  difficulties.  Massa 
chusetts,  in  1633,  provided  that  Indians  should  own 
lands  in  the  communities  of  the  Colony  and  share  in 
all  social  and  political  privileges.  But  the  Church 
people  favored  Indian  communities  and  they  do  to 
day.  What  we  must  do  is  to  broaden  the  policy  of 
inviting  the  Indians  to  come  into  our  communities. 
It  has  been  a  great  success  at  Carlisle.  The  system 
shows  .there  is  little  more  difficulty,  in  making 
English-speaking,  industrious,  civilized  men  and 
woman  of  Indians  than  there  is  in  reaching  the 
same  conditions  with  our  foreign  immigrants." 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

WHAT  OF  THE  FUTURE. 

THE  CAUSES  OF  INDIAN  DISCONTENT  AND  THE  REMEDIES  THAT  SHOULD  BE 
APPLIED — VIEWS  OF  THE  INDIAN  RIGHTS  ASSOCIATION — AN  OBJECT  LES 
SON  FROM  THE  SAN  CARLOS  RESERVATION — THE  CHIRICAHUA  TRIBES — 
SWINDLING  THE  INDIANS — CHARACTER  OF  THE  FRONTIERSMAN — FAMILY 
AFFECTION  AMONG  THE  INDIANS — LACK  OF  APPRECIATION  OF  THE  POWER 
OF  THE  WHITES. 

Every  Indian  war  calls  forth  much  philosophizing 
as  to  its  causes  and  the  blame  therefor,  and  much 
prognosticating  as  to  the  future  of  the  red  race. 
The  present  time  is  no  exception  to  the  rule,  but 
there  seems  to  be  rather  more  than  ordinary  agree 
ment  as  to  the  wrongs  suffered  by  the  Indians, 
through  either  careless  and  ignorant  or  dishonest 
management. 

The  view  of  the  Sioux  taken  by  the  Indian  Rights 
Association,  has  been  set  forth  officially  in  these 
terms : 

"The  Sioux  Indians,  among  whom  the  dis 
turbance  exists,  number  approximately  28,000  souls. 
They  subsist  mainly  on  rations  furnished  by  the 
Government,  given  them  in  payment  for  land  ceded 
by  them  to  the  United  States,  although  many  oi 
568 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  569 

them,  under  the  guidance  of  agents  and  missionaries, 
have  made  laudable  advances  toward  independance, 
ana  some  of  them  are  practically  self-supporting. 

"There  are  two  well-defined  parties  among  the 
Sioux  (a  fact  pertinent  to  a  consideration  of  the 
present  trouble),  a  progressive  party,  almost  wholly 

A  PROGRESSIVE  PARTY. 

Christian,  which  has  been  created  and  developed 
under  the  influence  of  missionaries,  both  white  and 
native,  of  various  religious  bodies — Congregational, 
Presbyterian,  Roman  Catholic  and  Episcopalian — - 
who  for  many  years  have  labored  devotedly  among 
these  Indians.  This  progressive  party  represents 
the  '  new  way/  new  ideas  and  new  hopes,  the  ideas 
of  Christianity  and  of  civilization.  It  is  loyal  to  the 
Government,  peacable  and  steadily  increasing  in 
influence,  industry  and  vigor.  A  few  of  the  native 
leaders  of  this  party  are  educated  and  refined  men, 
while  its  members  as  a  whole  lead  exemplary  moral 
lives. 

Second,  a  heathen,  non-progressive  party  look 
ing  backward  to  the  days  of  the  buffalo,  predatory 

LOOKING  BACKWARD. 

warfare,  and  unrestrained  freedom,  hostile  to  the 
advance  of  civilization,  whether  among  the  whites  as 
a  menacing  force  outside  the  reservation,  or  among 
the  Indians  themselves  as  a  disintegrating  force 
within.  The  occupation  of  the  heathen  party  since 
reservation  life  began,  has  been  the  consumption  of 
Government  rations,  dancing,  wandering  from  place 


570  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

to  place  on  visits  to  friends  and  relatives.  This  party 
has  been  represented  by  such  men  as  Spotted  Tail, 
Red  Cloud,  Sitting  Bull,  from  whom  nothing  in  the 
line  of  progress  was  hoped  for  or  has  been  obtained- 
Such  leaders  were  always  openly  or  secretly  at 
enmity  with  the  Government  and  with  the  best 
interests  of  their  people.  They  have  discouraged 

DISCOURAGED  OR  TERRORIZED. 

or  terrorized  progressive  Indians,  have  been  a  thorn 
in  the  side  of  good  Indian  agents,  and  the  masters 
of  poor  ones.  It  is  a  fact  that  cannot  be  too 
strongly  emphasized  that  no  dangerous  and  power 
ful  heathen  party  could  have  existed,  had  the  Gov 
ernment  fulfilled  solemn  promises  and  its  manifest 
duty  to  provide  for  the  education  of  these  people." 

The  causes  of  the  discontent  which  led  to  the 
war  of  1890-1,  were  stated  to  be,  in  the  belief  of  the 
Association,  as  follows : 

"First.  Ignorance,  through  the  failure  of  the  Gov 
ernment  to  supply  education,  and  the  sway  of  savage 

SWAY  OF  SAVAGE  IDEAS. 

ideas  in  the  minds  of  the  non-progressive  Sioux, 
which  fostered  latent  hostility  to  the  Government, 
which  made  them  an  easy  prey  to  religious  frenzy 
and  suggested  violence  as  a  remedy  for  real  or 
fancied  wrongs. 

"  Second.  Hunger  and  disease — the  grippe  among 
the  adults,  and  measles  among  the  children. 

"Third.  Distrust  of  the  good  faith  of  the  Gov 
ernment,  based  on  imperfect  fulfilment  of  former 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  571 

promises  and  delay  in  the  carrying  out  of  the  terms 
of  the  recent  agreement. 

"Fourth.  The  spoils  system  as  applied  to  the 
management  of  Indian  affairs,  which  has  supplied 
feeble  or  unwise  mangement  at  some  of  the  agen 
cies,  has  prevented  continuity  and  harmony  in  the 
Government's  work  for  the  civilization  of  the 
Indians." 

And  this  is  the  remedy  proposed  : 

THE  REMEDY  PROPOSED. 

"The  first  and  most  important  requisite  .is  a 
single,  responsible,  competent  head  for  the  manage 
ment  of  Indian  affairs,  and  charged  with  that  duty 
only,  who  shall  report  directly  to  the  President,  and 
who  shall  be  looked  to  by  the  country  at  large  for  a 
successful  Indian  management. 

"  An  Indian  service  wholly  free  from  the  inter 
ference  of  partisan  politics,  which  shall  continue  its 

INTERFERENCE  OF  PARTISAN  POLITICS. 

policy  and  carry  out  its  educational  work  undis 
turbed  by  changing  Administrations. 

"  While  we  do  not  advocate  the  complete  transfer 
of  Indian  management  to  the  War  Department,  we 
believe  that  all  the  advantages  which  the  advocates 
of  that  plan  desire  could  be  obtained  by  detailing 
many  able  and  experienced  army  officers  to  serve  as 
Indian  agents,  without  the  counterbalancing  disad 
vantages  which  we  believe  would  result  from  so 
radical  a  change. 

"This  suggestion  has  especial  force  from  the  fact 


572  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

that  a  few  army  officers  have  in  the  past  served  as 
Indian  agents  with  excellent  results. 

"  The  appropriation  of  sufficient  money  by  Con 
gress  to  permit  the  education  of  all  Indian  youth 
and  the  maintenance  of  a  thoroughly  effective  ser 
vice.  Manifestly,  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  give 
enough  money  to  do  the  work  in  hand  if  there  be  a 
thoroughly  efficient  executive  officer  to  expend  it." 

A  well  informed  writer  in  The  New  York  Times 
has  at  considerable  length  urged  the  incompetence 
or  dishonesty  of  agents  as  a  prime  cause  of  Indian 

INCOMPETENCE  OR  DISHONESTY. 

troubles.  The  agency  at  the  San  Carlos  reserva 
tion,  in  Arizona,  he  says,  is  a  fair  sample  of  an 
agency  of  the  first  class,  as  they  were  rated  a  few 
years  ago,  according  to  the  number  of  Indians  fed. 
The  San  Carlos  reserve  is  an  almost  rectangular 
area,  cut  out  of  the  finest  part  of  the  centre  of  the 
Territory,  running  north  and  south  about  130  miles 
and  east  and  west  about  40  miles.  It  is  watered  by 
the  San  Carlos  and  Gila  Rivers  and  by  many  moun 
tain  streams  flowing  south  into  them,  whose  courses 
follow  the  richest  grazing  country  of  the  world.  The 
mountains  of  the  region  are  covered  with  pine 
forests,  succeeded  at  lower  altitudes  by  the  cotton- 
wood  and  '  mesquite  '  of  the  lowlands.  The  soil  is 
not  rich,  except  where  it  is  alluvial,  but  growing  out 
of  plateaus  covered  with  volcanic  rocks,  one  can 
travel  for  days  through  fields  of  wild  barley  growing 
waist  high.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  find  corn  grow- 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  573 

ing  ten  and  fourteen  feet  high,  nor  to  find  farmers 
who  think  it  nothing  unusual  to  gather  three  crops 
of  '  alfalfa '  per  year  from  the  same  ground. 

This  reservation    is    the    home   of    the  Apache 

.      HOME  OF  THE  APACHE. 

nation  proper.  The  name  Apache  is  a  corruption 
of  the  Zuni  and  Moki  terms  '  Apachu,'  which  they 
applied  to  the  Navajos,  and  which*  means  a  large, 
strong  man.  The  Apaches  are  divided  into  tribes, 
and  named  according  to  the  locality  of  their  homes. 
The  Tonto  Apaches  were  probably  the  ones  who 
were  most  easily  capabable  of  being  made  good 
citizens,  and  inhabited  the  section  known  as  Tonto 
Basin,  surrounded  by  the  Sierra  Ancha  and  the 
Superstition  Mountains.  Until  they  leagued  them 
selves  with  the  hostile  White  Mountain  Apaches 
they  had  never  given  any  trouble,  but  since  1880 
they  have  been  little  better  than  any  others.  Their 
nature  is  not  so  ferocious  as  that  of  the  White  Moun- 

NOT  SO  FEROCIOUS. 

tain  Indians,  and  they  are  probably  the  most  easily 
led  of  the  nation.  The  White  Mountain  tribe  has 
never  been  known  to  cultivate  the  land  ;  their  pas 
times  are  hunting  in  the  Autumn,  war  and  murder  in 
the  Winter,  and  returning  to  the  agency  in  the 
Spring  and  Summer  to  draw  their  rations.  The  San 
Carlos  tribe  are  the  politicians,  and  never  make  a 
move  without  attaching  themselves  to  the  stronger 
party.  For  many  years  they  have  been  employed 
as  Government  scouts,  and  no  case  of  mutiny  or 


574  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

bad  faith  is  known  against  them.  Most  of  them 
live  along  the  San  Carlos  River,  close  to  the  main 
agency  buildings,  and  they  were  the  main  reliance  of 
General  Crook  in  his  campign  against  the  other 
tribes. 

"  The  Chiricahua  tribes,  which  dwelt  in  the  moun 
tains  of  the  same  name  to  the  south,  have  always 
been  the  bane  of  the  Territory.  Back  in  the  days 
before  the  war  they  overran  the  southern  part  of 
Arizona  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Rio  Grande.  Under 
Magnus  Colorado,  the  father  of  Cochise,  an  Indian 
of  shrewd  sense  and  an  able  warrior,  they  probably 
committed  more  depredations  than  any  other  aborigi- 

COMMITTED  MORE  DEPREDATIONS. 

nal  tribe.  Magnus  was  finally  captured  by  the 
California  rangers  under  Colonel  McClave  in  New 
Mexico  and  confined  in  an  adobe  hut,  with  tw©  trusty 
sentinels  to  guard  the  windows.  McClave  under 
stood  his  prisoner,  and  must  have  believed  that  he 
would  make  a  better  Indian  under  the  sod  than 
above  it,  for  on  one  warm,  sunny  afternoon,  when 
the  chief  was  seated  in  his  cell  with  his  head  bowed, 
probably  concocting  schemes  of  revenge,  a  soldier 
climbed  upon  the  roof,  and  dropped  an  adobe  brick 
down  the  chimney.  It  fell  into  the  fireplace,  close 
to  the  prisoner's  feet  and  so  startled  him  that  he 
jumped  to  his  feet  and  bounded  to  the  window, 
when  the  sentinel  on  duty,  thinking  him  about  to 
make  a  break  for  liberty,  shot  him  through  the  heart. 
None  of  his  successors  ever  held  the  tribe  so  well 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  575 

together,  but  many  of  them  were  most  successful 
raiders  with  smaller  bands.  His  pupil  in  Indian 

SHOT  HIM  THROUGH  THE  HEART. 

warfare  and  protege,  Victoria,  kept  many  cavalry 
and  infantry  companies  on  the  jump  for  years,  while 
Geronimo's  misdeeds  are  of  too  recent  occurrence 
to  require  mention. 

"  When  General  Crook  went  to  Arizona,  he  found 
all  these  Apache  tribes  banded  together  against 
their  enemy,  the  white  man.  This  feeling  and 
Indian  union  were  helped  along  by  a  succession  of 
dishonest  agents,  who  openly  said  they  had  not  gone 
to  Arizona  for  their  health,  and  who  generally  left 
with  their  pockets  well  lined.  When  the  agency 
was  started,  an  Indian  received  about  a  pound  of 
beef  a  day,  but  as  time  went  on  the  scales  were 

SCALES  WERE  TAMPERED  WITH. 

tampered  with  and  the  Indiam  stomachs  went  empty. 
In  an  agency  of  5,000  Indians  an  agent  may  misap 
propriate  from  $4,000  to  $6,000  per  month,  on  beef 
alone,  by  allowing  Indians  to  hunt  on  the  reservation, 
so  that  they  may  not  be  present  at  the  weekly  issue 
of  rations.  By  an  easy  system,  these  Indians  are 
carried  on  the  rolls  as  fed,  while  in  reality  they  get 
nothing,  and  the  difference,  including  coffee,  suoar, 
Hour,  salt,  yeast  powder,  and  beef,  may  be  quietly" 
disposed  of  to  the  storekeepers  of  the  adjacent 
mining  towns.  The  agent  always  puts  his  prices  at  a 
little,  lower  rate  than  the  same  articles  could  be 
bought  in  San  Francisco  and  shipped  by  rail,  so  the 


576  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

tradesmen  secure  a  larger  profit,  business  booms, 
the  agent  is  a  popular  man  whom  all  stand  by,  and 
the  Indian,  exasperated  by  ill-treatment,  goes  on  the 
war-path,  killing  everything  white. 

KILLING  EVERYTHING  WHITE. 

By  charging  up  on  the  rolls  as  issued  that  which 
has  not  been  issued,  there  sometimes  arises  a  great 
surplus  of  material  which  it  may  be  difficult  to 
dispose  of.  In  1879  there  were  in  the  Government 
buildings  at  San  Carlos  thirty-six  Studebakei 
farm  wagons  which  had  been  charged  to  the 
Indians  as  issued  to  them.  At  a  low  calculation 
these  wagons  could  have  been  sold  for  $1,000  each, 
and  would  have  realized  a  handsome  steal  for  some 
body.  In  addition  to  this,  there  was  a  heavy  sur 
plus  of  all  other  supplies,  but  the  Indians  broke 
out  a  few  months  too  soon.  The  agent  fled 

THE  AGENT  FLED. 

and  was  succeeded  by  the  military,  who  had  inven 
tories  made  and  the  property  taken  up  and  prop 
erly  credited  to  the  Government. 

It  may  safely  be  estimated  that  just  about  one- 
third  of  the  supplies  purchased  for  the  Indians  never 
reach  them.  A  residence  in  the  Indian  country  soon 
convinces  one  thaf  there  is  in  the  East  a  great  deal 
of  maudlin  sentimentality  for  the  Indian,  and  on  the 
other  hand  the  honesty,  thrift,  noble  character,  and 
worth  of  the  fontiersmen  have  been  greatly  overrated. 
This  same  frontiersman  is  the  one  who  usually  sells 
rifles  and  ammunition  to  the  Indians.  Why  he 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  577 

should  do  so  is  very  easily  explained.  Take,  for 
example,  the  case  of  the  teamster  or  driver  of  a 

GREATLY  OVERRATED. 

"  prairie  schooner."  He  is  always  supplied  with  a 
rifle  and  cartridges.  He  makes  his  camps,  when 
possible,  in  mining  towns,  and  when  his  animals  are 
unharnessed  and  fed  for  the  night  he  goes  out  to 
"see  the  town."  Everything  is  closed  except  the 
gambling  saloons,  and  he  is  soon  drawn  in  with  the 
rest  of  the  crowd  to  buck  at  "faro."  It  usually 
happens  that  he  drives  out  of  town  without  a  cent. 
An  endless  road  of  the  plains  generally  induces  one 
to  reflect  and  think.  All  he  has  is  his  rifle.  It  is 
worth  in  the  towns  about  $20,  but  an  Indian  will, 
give  $60  for  it,  because  selling  arms  to  the  Indians 
is  illegal  and  the  heavy  penalty  deters  many  from 
so  doing.  While  eating  his  luncheon  an  Indian 
passes  by  and  the  trade  is  made.  Our  driver  goes 
to  the  next  town,  purchases  another  rifle  for  $20, 
and  has  $40  more  with  which  to  buck  the  tiger  again. 
One  by  one  rifles  are  picked  up  in  this  manner  by 
the  Indians,  until  they  are  really  better  armed  than 

BETTER  ARMED  THAN  OUR  OWN  SOLDIERS. 

our  own  soldiers  who  still  carry  the  old  Springfield 
rifles,  while  many  Indians  have  Winchesters  and 
other  styles  of  magazine  guns. 

In  olden  days,  when  any  bad  character  disappered 
from  the  North  and  East  with  a  Sheriff  looking  for 
him,  it  was  generally  said  tliat  he  had  "gone  to 
Texas,"  and  soon  the  initials  "  G.  T.  T."  were  as 


578  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

well  understood  as  "  F.  F.  V,"  are  to-aay.  The 
cowboy  of  the  northern  plains  is  a  much  more  re 
spectable  individual  than  those  who  have  spread 
west  from  Texas  across  New  Mexico  and  Arizona. 
Thus,  "gone  to  Arizona"  has  become  a  common 
phrase.  They  practice  every  kind  of  villainy 

EVERY  KIND  OF  VILLAINY. 

against  the  Indians,  who  reciprocate  whenever  a  fair 
opportunity  offers  itself.  Indian  cattle  are  stolen, 
their  brands,  obliterated,  and  run  in  with  white  cattle 
to  be  driven  East.  White  cattle  are  always  en 
croaching  on  Indian  reservations,  and  schemes  are 
always  being  formed  to  cut  off  so  much  of  this  or 
that  Indian  reserve.  All  this  is  resented  and 
brooded  over  by  the  wise  men  of  the  tribes,  and  an 
other  Indian  war  is  the  result.  Usually  one  finds  a 
peculiar  kind  of  freemasonry  existing  among  bad 
characters  of  the  same  ilk,  but  in  the  case  of  the 
freebooting  frontiersmen  and  the  Indians  there  is  no 
such  sympathy. 

About  four  years  ago,  some  Apaches  started  a 
farm  and  cattle  ranch  near  the  headwaters  of  Coon 
Creek,  Arizona,  making  every  promise  of  good  be 
havior,  as  earnestly  as  only  Indians  can  promise. 
Many  industrious  white  settlers  of  the  better  class 
had  settled  in  the  valley,  but  notwithstanding  their 
objections  the  Indians  were  allowed  to  move  in.  It 
was  not  long  before  young  colts  began  to  disappear, 
and  occasionally  a 'young  and  tender  lamb  would 
be  missing.  Many  complaints  were  made,  but  the 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  5-9 

agent,  for  reasons  of  his  own,  pigeonholed  them. 
Finally  the  Indians  were  caught  having  a  barbecue 

HAVING  A  BARBECUE. 

on  stolen  cattle,  and  the  indignant  citizens  appealed 
to  the  courts  and  had  the  guilty  bucks  arrested. 
During  their  sojourn  in  jail  an  enterprising  stock 
raiser  living  on  Final  Creek  cast  covetous  eyes  on 
the  sleek,  fat  Indian  cattle,  which  continued  to  grow 
fatter  notwithstanding  the  fact  of  their  master's 
absence,  but  there  was  one  difficulty  to  be  over 
come.  The  Indians  had  long  before  recognized  the 
uselessness  of  any  ordinary  hide  brand,  which  could 
be  blotted  out  with  a  red-hot  frying  pan,  and  had 
marked  their  cattle  by  splitting  the  left  ear  length 
wise.  Finally  the  Final  Creek  raiser  decided  to 
adopt  a  brand  which  was  to  cut  off  the  left  ear 
entirely.  So,  rounding  up  the  Indian  cattle  he  ob- 

OBLITERATED  THEIR  BRAND. 

literated  their  brand  and  initiated  his  own  in  one 
blow  as  it  were,  and  incorporated  them  in  his  own 
herd.  When  the  Indians  were  released  they  soon 
discovered  the  peculiar  brand  of  their  neighbor,  and 
the  troops  were  again  called  upon  to  settle  the 
difficulty,  and  the  Indian  cattle  were  returned. 

Another  difficulty  in  the  management  of  Indians 
is  the  constant  friction  existing  between  the  War 
and  Interior  Departments.  Any  plan  or  suggestion 
offered  by  a  military  man  is  sure  to  be  opposed  by 
the  civilian  and  vice  versa.  There  is  a  little  jeal 
ousy  in  this,  but  oftener  it  is  a  question  of  dollars 


5 SO  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL. 

and  cents  with  the  Indian  agent,  who  can  always 
make  more  when  the  army  has  no  finger  in  the  pie. 
One  agent,  rather  more  zealous,  attempted  to 
establish  a  rule  that  the  troops  could  not  pursue  and 
arrest  an  Indian  while  on  the  reservation.  Very 
soon  the  younger  bucks  practiced  making  small 
raids  over  the  boundary  of  their  haven  of  rest,  only 
to  return  quickly  with  their  booty  and  be  exempt 
from  punishment.  Robberies,  murders  and  cattle 

ROBBERIES,  MURDERS  AND  CATTLE  THIEVING. 

thieving  became  of  such  frequent  occurrence  that 
they  brought  down  a  storm  of  indignation  on  the 
agent's  head,  who  reversed  his  decision. 

The  ill  feeling  between  the  subordinates  of  the 
two  departments  works  to  the  great  disadvantage^ 
of  the  army  in  some  instances,  as  in  the  Chiricahua 
war  of  1882,  when  the  departure  of  1 10  bucks  from 
the  reservation  was  not  reported  to  army  head 
quarters  by  the  agent.  As  a  consequence  many 
innocent  lives  were  sacrificed  and  the  Valley  of  the 
Gila  ruined.  In  raiding  the  valley  this  war  party 
killed  about  fifty  people,  coming  upon  them  unex 
pectedly  through  the  agent's  criminal  and  really 

MALICIOUS  NEGLIGENCE, 

malicious  negligence,  when  there  were  troops  in 
readiness  close  by  who  could  have  prevented  the 
massacres.  Before  the  Western  Union  Company 
stretched  its  wires  through  the  Territory,  the 
Government  had  its  own  telegraph  lines, 
and  had  placed  them  so  well  that  almost  any 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  581 

party  of  hostiles  could  be  intercepted  before  :t 
could  escape  over  the  frontier  into  Mexico.  The 
Indians  were  bright,  and  it  was  not  long  before  they 
conceived  the  pla^i  of  cutting  the  wires.  Had  they 
simply  cut  them,  it  would  have  availed  them  little, 
because  linemen  would  easily  have  found  the  break; 
but  they  sometimes  used  to  cut  out  sections  of  from 
50  to  100  feet  in  length,  and,  substituting  therefore 
a  piece  of  dark,  heavy  cord  so  closely  resembling 
the  original  wire,  made  discovery  very  difficult. 

Among  themselves — i.  e.,  between  members  of 
the  same  family — their  practices  are  worthy  of  our 

WORTHY  OF  OUR  ADOPTION. 

adoption.  Parents  are  generally  devoted  to  their 
children  and  wives  to  their  husbands.  To  be 
sure,  the  noble  red  man  expects  his  squaw  or 
squaws  to  do  all  the  work,  while  he  rests  and  smokes, 
but  in  return  he  is  their  protector  and  will  die  for 
them. 

In  1882  a  party  of  Chiricahua  Indians,  after  being 
badly  whipped  in  Mexico  by  our  troops,  were  being 
closely  pursued.  The  wounded  were  being  helped 
along,  but  many  succumbed  to  their  wounds  and 
died  on  the  trail.  A  small  detachment  of  pursuers 
discovered  and  followed  a  newly-made  path  evi 
dently  leading  to  a  small  grove  of  "  mesquite  "  trees, 
and,  when  arriving  at  that  point,  found  four  ponies 
tied  around  a  newly-made  grave.  At  one  end  of  the 
freshly-turned  earth  was  some  food,  neatly  tied  up 
in  paper,  for  the  use  of  the  sleeping  brave  when  he 


582  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

should  awake  in  the  happy  hunting  grounds.  As 
some  of  the  party  were  intimately  acquainted  with 
the  hostiles,  the  grave  was  opened  to  see  who  the 

HAPPY  HUNTING  GROUNDS. 

occupant  might  be.  Dressed  in  the  clothes  of  a 
murdered  white,  and  painted  ior  war,  there  had 
been  laid  at  rest  the  body  of  one  of  Victoria's 
most  trusty  and  dangerous  followers.  The 
friendly  scouts  soon  pulled  the  corpse  out  to  search 
the  clothes  for  any  valuables.  A  small  amount  of 
money  and  a  few  trinkets  were  found ;  the  ponies 
were  driven  along  by  the  pursuing  party  and  the 
dead  brave  left  on  the  ground  beside  the  open 
graves.  In  a  few  days  the  same  detachment  re 
turned'  and,  through  curiosity,  made  a  detour  past 
the  spot.  To  their  astonishment  they  found  that  the 
body  had  been  again  interred,  and  the  loose  earth 
carefully  smoothed  over  as  before.  His  squaw,  who 
had  accompanied  him  in  his  flight,  had  probably  re 
mained  weeping  at  his  grave,  unable  to  leave  her 

UNABLE  TO  LEAVE  HER  LOVER. 

lover.  At  the  approach  of  the  detachment  she  had 
probably  concealed  herself,  and  imagine  her  wound 
ed  feelings  as  she  saw  him  dragged  from  his  resting 
place.  As  soon  as  the  violators  had  gone  she  re 
turned,  and  with  loving  care  again  put  him  at  rest, 
and  was  doubtless  near  at  hand  to  watch  the  second 
visit.  There  are  many  similar  instances  of  devotion 
familiar  to  all  who  have  lived  among  the  Indians, 
and  many  equally  ferocious*  and  cruel  acts  of  the 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  583 

same  devoted  squaws  toward  the  helpless  prisoners 
who  fall  into  their  murderous  clutches. 

It  is  very  seldom  that  the  Indians  take  prisoners, 
as  most  whites  usually  reserve  one  cartridge  for 
themselves  to  use,  if  everything  is  lost  and  capture 
inevitable.  It  is  not  considered  dignified  for  the 
Indian  braves  to  torture  prisoners,  but  they  stand 
by  to  enjoy  the  scene  while  the  squaws  perpetrate 

SQUAWS  PERPETRATE  EVERY  DIABOLICAL  OUTRAGE. 

every  diabolical  outrage  that  their  fiendish  imagina 
tion  suggests.  Ears  are  cut  off,  then  the  nose,  and 
sharp-pointed  sticks  are  pressed  into  the  eyes  ;  where 
fire  is  used,  the  unhappy  wretch  is  pinned  to  the 
ground,  after  which  the  fire  is  kindled  on  his  stom 
ach.  Only  a  few  years  ago  some  American  pros 
pectors  discovered  a  dead  Mexican  a  few  miles 
below  the  Arizona  line.  He  had  first  been  buried 
in  the  hot  desert  up  to  his  neck  ;  then  his  eyelids 
were  cut  off  to  make  the  exposure  to  the  broiling 
sun  more  painful,  while  pieces  of  putrid  meat  were 
scattered  on  the  ground  around  his  head  to  attract 
swarms  of  "  blowflies."  The  poor  fellow's  sufferings 
must  have  been  intense,  and  he  probably  lived  in 
that  position  for  two  whole  days. 

The  Indian   is  a  very  queer  mixture,  and  it  re- 

A  VERY  QUEER  MIXTURE. 

quires  a  long  residence  with  him  thoroughly  to  un 
derstand  his  character.  Nearly  all  our  agents  in  the 
West  owe  their  appointments  to  political  preferment 
alone,  and  fitness  seems  to  be  the  last  thing  thought 


584  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL  %4 

of,  if  considered  at  all.  A  professional  "  wire  puller" 
from  Ohio,  after  being  defeated  at  the  polls  is  usually 
appointed  over  the  heads  of  competent  citizens  of 
the  Indian  country.  Repairing  the  "  fences  ''  of  his 
political  superiors  has  not  given  him  much  insight 
into  Indian  management,  but  he  cares  little  for  that, 
because  he  regards  his  appointment  as  a  reward  for 
party  services,  and  he  resolves  to  make  the  most  of 
it.  He  has  no  house  rent,  his  food  costs  him  noth 
ing,  and  his  clothes  are  purchased  at  an  almost  nom 
inal  price  from  Indian  traders  who  expect  return 
favors.  The  salary  is  very  small  and  entirely  out  of 
proportion  to  the  immense  responsibilities  of  the 
post,  and  in  that  point  Congress  is  culpable.  What 

CONGRESS  IS  CULPABLE. 

man,  capable  of  earning  a  decent  living  in  a  civilized 
section  of  the  country,  would  dream  of  burying  him 
self  on  an  Indian  reservation,  surrounded  by  the 
refuse  of  the  country's  population,  on  a  salary  of 
$  i, 500  a  year,  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  he  has 
hopes  of  making  a  large  amount  of  money  on  the 
outside  ? 

A  few  years  ago  it  was  a  notorious  fact  that  the 
San  Carlos  Agency  was  a  grocery  and  feed  store 
for  the  surrounding  country — that  is  to  say,  any 
frontiersman  could  purchase  his  supplies  there,  have 
his  animals  shod  there,  and  even  purchase  farming 
implements  which  had  been  sent  for  distribution 
among  the  Indians.  During  the  administration  of 
the  Interior  Department  by  Secretary  Schurz  the 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  585 

affairs  ol  the  agency  were  investigated  and  the  agent 
indicted  by  the  Territorial  courts.  An  army  officer 
was  put  in  charge  and  kept  there  until  the  pressure 

PRESSURE  BROUGHT  ON  THE  SECRETARY. 

brought  on  the  Secretary  was  so  heavy  that  another 
civilian  was  sent  out  to  relieve  him.  The  military 
by  careful  work  appeased  all  the  disaffected  Indians, 
and  for  the  first  time  in  many  years  San  Carlos  was 
quiet.  The  settlers  in  the  Gila  Valley  felt  secure, 
and  did  not  dread  finding  themselves  surrounded  at 
daylight  by  a  murderous  band  of  Apaches.  A  res 
ervation  farm  was  started,  waterways  were  built  for 
irrigation,  the  ground  was  plowed,  and  everything 
seemed  to  be  in  a  fair  way  to  make  the  Indians  an 
agricultural  and  self-supporting  community,  when 
the  army  officer  was  regretfully  relieved  by  Mr. 
Schurz. 

The  new  agent  was  not  a  dishonest  man,  but  was 
lacking  in  almost  every  requirement  for  the  success 
ful  management  of  Indians.  The  speculators, 
thieves,  and  general  bad  characters  of  the  reserva- 

BAD  CHARACTERS  OF  THE  RESERVATION. 

tion  who  had  been  driven  off  during  the  military 
control  now  returned,  and  by  ingenious  arguments 
so  prejudiced  the  new  agent  against  anything  mili 
tary  that  he  became  a  tool  in  their  hands.  The 
agent  was  a  simple-minded  individual,  much  more 
competent  to  manage  a  Sunday  school  class  of  a 
village  parish  than  to  deal  with  the  shrewd  scoun 
drels  who  surrounded  him.  He  was  warned  and 


586  LIFE   OF  SITTING  BULL 

advised  to  put  the  crowd  off  of  the  reservation  ;  but 
the  merchants  of  the  surrounding  towns,  fearing  a 
diminution  of  profits,  assured  him  that  such  action 
would  result  in  an  Indian  outbreak.  Living  at  the 
agency  and  among  the  Indians,  the  agent  was  un 
able  to  discover  any  signs  of  disaffection,  until  one 
fine  morning  his  chief  of  scouts  was  killed  and  the 
agency  buildings  fired  into.  The  outbreak  would 
never  have  occurred  had  not  the-  Indians  been  de 
prived  of  more  than  half  of  their  rations  by  the 
greedy  set  of  thieves  who  advised  the  agent.  The 

GREEDY  SET  OF  THIEVES. 

war  caused  by  this  agent's  blunders  lasted  three 
years,  and  was  only  quelled  when  General  Crook 
captured  the  marauding  bands  in  Mexico  and  had 
them  transported  to  St.  Augustine. 

The  Indian,  as  a  rule,  is  deceitful  and  treacherous, 
but  his  treatment  has  been  such  as  to  develop  those 
characteristics.  Kindness  is  in  a  measure  appre 
ciated  by  them,  but  they  are  never  so  respectful  as 
when  they  understand  that  the  power  over  them  is 
able  and  willing  to  punish  them.  They  are  singu 
larly  ignorant  of  the  preponderance  of  whites  in 
this  country  and  of  the  immense  resources  of  the 
Government,  and  it  is  this  ignorance  which  renders 
their  submission  more  difficult.  The  few  South 
western  Indians  who  have  been  taken  East  to  see 
the  sights  have  returned  and  related  what  they  have 
seen,  but  all  to  no  use.  Sneezer,  a  San  Carlos 
Apache  of  great  influence  with  his  tribe,  was  taken 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  587 

to  Washington,  Philadelphia,  Boston,  and  New 
York,  with  the  hope  that  on  his  return  he  would  be 
able  to  pfive  the  Indians  such  an  account  of  the  maof- 

o  t> 

nitude  of  our  cities,  the  number  of  people,  the  ex 
tent  of  railways,  and  the  power  of  the  whites  that 
they  might  be  impressed,  as  it  were,  with  some  con 
ception  of  the  hopelessness  of  their  struggle  against 

HOPELESSNESS  OF  THEIR  STRUGGLE. 

the  advance  of  civilization.  Sneezer  went  back  and 
told  his  tribe  of  the  wonders  he  had  seen.  Stone 
houses,  ten  stones  high ;  street  cars ;  railroads 
crossing  States  ;  the  immense  number  of  people  ; 
the  grandeur  of  the  cities  ;  the  immense  steamers 
of  New  York  Harbor,  and  the  great  lake  along  our 
coast,  whose  waters  he  said  were  salty.  His  former 
admirers  and  supporters  listened,  dumfounded  and 
amazed.  They  wondered  if  their  chief  had  become 
crazy.  They  questioned  him  again,  and  his  answers 
only  increased  their  'astonishment,  and  with  one 
accord  they  pronounced  him  bewitched  and  out  of 
his  mind.  From  a  most  powerful  factor  of  the  tribe 
he  became  a  pitied  lunatic,  of  less  influence  than  a 
ten-year-old  boy,  and  his  tales  of  travel  were  re 
peated  to  children  as  we  relate  those  of  the  Arabian 
Nights, 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

THE  WASHINGTON  CONFERENCE. 

THE  INDIAN  LEADERS  VISIT  SECRETARY  NOBLE — THE  STORY  OF  THEIR 
SUFFERINGS  TOLD  IN  THEIR  OWN  SIMPLE  AND  GRAPHIC  MANNER- 
ELOPEMENTS  AND  MARRIAGES  AMONG  THE  INDIANS — INDIAN  CHIEFS 
DECLARE  THAT  THERE  WAS  DELIBERATE  BUTCHERY  AT  THE  BATTLE 
OF  WOUNDED  KNEE — A  VISIT  10  THE  PRESIDLNT  AT  THE  WHITE 
HOUSE. 

Early  in  February,  1891,  an  important  delegation 
from  the  Sioux  reached  Washington  for  the  pur 
pose  of  conferring  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Inter 
ior  regarding  the  interests  of  their  people.  The 
conference  was  opened  on  February  yth.  The  Secre 
tary  of  War  and  Mrs.  Proctor  and  Miss  Proctor 
were  present,  and  also  the  wife  of  Secretary  Noble 
and  Miss  Halstead  and  Miss  Dawes,  Miss  Kate 
Foote,  Miss  Alice  Fletcher,  and  others  prominent  in 
the  work  for  the  Indians  were  interested  spectators. 
The  conference  was  opened  by  Secretary  Noble, 
who  said: 

SECRETARY  NOBLE'S  ADDRESS. 

"  You  were  represented  here  just  after  the  agree 
ment  with   General   Crook  was  made      You    made 
certain  requests  and  complaints  at  that  time,  and  you 
c'ftS 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  589 

received  certain  promises  from  me.  There  has 
been  trouble  since  then,  and  you  have  come  again  to 
say  what  you  think  proper  as  to  the  cause  of  the 
trouble,  and  to  make  any  further  complaints  you  see 
fit.  The  Secretary  is  here  to  tell  you  that  he  has 
kept  his  word,  but  if  there  is  anything  more  he  can 
clo,  through  friendship  for  the  Sioux,  he  is  ready  to 
do  it.  He  is  your  friend,  and  the  Great  Father  has 
told  him  to  be  your  friend.  He  wants  you  to  talk 
to  him  as  a  friend  and  he  will  meet  you  in  the  same 
spirit." 

The  Secretary  then  asked  if  the  Indians  had  made 
any  arrangements  about  speakers.  He  could  not 
hear  them  all,  but  he  would  listen  to  a  few,  and  he 
desired  them  to  speak  briefly.  He  added  that  if  no 
objection  was  made,  he  would  hear  from  John  Grass, 
Hollow  Horn  Bear,  American  Horse,  Two-Strike, 
Hump,  and  Man  Afraid-of-His-Horses 

Louis  Recoutre  said  that  this  arrangement  was 
not  satisfactory,  as  it  was  desired  that  each  agency 
should  be  represented  in  the  speakers. 

The  Secretary  replied  that  he  would  hear  John 
Grass  and  American  Horse,  and  then  advise  with 
them  as  to  who  should  follow. 

SPEECH  EY  J  >HN  GRVSS. 

John  Grass  then  came  forward.  The  Rev.  C.  S. 
Cook,  the  Episcopal  minister  at  Pine  Ridge,  acted 
as  interpreter.  Grass  at  once  began  to  speak  of  the 
recent  trouble  among  the  Indians,  the  origin  of 
which  he  did  not  know.  They  had  come  for  the  pur- 


590  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BUt.L 

pose  of  conferring  with  the  Secretary  in  regard  to 
the  matter.  The  Indians,  he  said,  did  not  desire  to 
be  driven  back  to  their  wild  life,  but  wished  to  con 
sult  with  the  President  so  as  to  determine  upon  the 
future.  They  wished,  he  said,  to  speak  on  certain 
matters  talked  over  when  the  Indians  were  here  last, 
and  the  promises  in  regard  to  which  were  not  car 
ried  out.  He  protested  against  the  practice  of  blam 
ing  all  Indians  for  what  was  the  fault  of  a  few.  The 
Indians  believe  that  if  they  are  honest  in  trying  to 
put  their  children  into  schools,  and  if  they  follow  the 
teachings  of  Christianity  they  would  be  going  in  the 
right  road.  The  Indians  regarded  these  as  import 
ant  factors,  and  they  also  thought  it  desirable  that  the 
agents  should  be  civilians  rather  than  military.  They 
desired  a  continuance  of  the  present  system  in  this 
respect.  In  the  past,  he  said,  the  Indian  agents  had 
opportunities  to  steal,  but  now  the  good  people  in 
the  East  maintained  such  a  close  watch  that  it  was 
difficult  to  adopt  such  practices.  The  agents  in  late 
years,  he  said,  were  good  men.  In  speaking  of  his 
own  reservation,  that  of  Standing  Rock,  the  threat- 

o 

ened  trouble  had  been  put  down  by  the  Indian  police. 
They  believed  in  the  Indian  police  and  he  was  re 
quested  to  ask  for  an  increase  of  fifty  men.  Grass 
then  shook  hands  with  the  Secretary  and  took  his  seat. 

A  GRACEFUL  ORATOR. 

American  Horse  was  the  next  speaker.  He  dis 
played  considerable  natural  ability,  and  made  a 
graceful  preface  to  his  remarks,  referring  in  compli- 


AND  THE  INDIAN  17 A R.  50 1 

mentary  terms  to  the  Secretary  and  the  ladies  pres 
ent.  He  then  asked  if  the  Secretary  thought  it  was 
good  to  curtail  the  speech  of  a  man  who  had  some 
thing  to  say,  so  that  he  did  not  have  the  chance  to 
say  all  he  intended. 

This  question  created  some  laughter,  and  the  Sec 
retary  replied  that  he  thought  short  speeches  were 
the  best,  but  he  desired  him  to  say  all  he  wished  to  say. 

WANTING  A  LONG  TALK 

American  Horse  further  inquired  whether  they 
would  have  another  conference  with  the  Secretary. 
He  said  that  they  had  a  good  deal  of  business  to 
transact,  which  might  require  three  or  four  months. 
The  Secretary  said  he  was  willing  to  see  them  as  often 
as  necessary,  but  said  that  their  business  here  must  be 
brought  to  a  close  in  a  short  time.  If  this  could  not 
be  done,  they  must  attend  to  the  rest  of  it  at  the 
agencies.  He  asked  that  they  proceed  to  address 
themselves  to  the  subject  of  the  conference. 

American  Horse  further  protested  against  haste. 

He  said  that  he  had  endeavored  to  learn  the  origin 
of  the  late  trouble,  and  in  his  search  and  investiga 
tion  he  found  himself  in  Washington.  He  then  went 
on  to  speak  of  the  importance  of  this  city  as  a  treaty- 
making  centre,  and  gradually  drifted  into  a  discus 
sion  of  the  subject  proper.  He  protested  against 
being  classed  as  a  hostile,  and  the  Secretary  assured 
him  that  he  was  not  so  classed. 

American  Horse  said  that  the  Indians  at  Pine 
Ridge,  through  the  destruction  of  their  property, 


592  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

had  been  put  back  fifteen  years,  and  that  the  Indians 
desired  to  have  these  losses  made  good.  The  Gov- 

INDIAN    LOSSES. 

ernment,  he  said,  had  made  mistakes  in  their  at 
tempts  to  civilize  the  Indians.  He  enumerated  their 
mistakes.  Instead  of  the  places  at  the  agencies 
being  filled  by  Indians,  white  men  crowded  them  out 
and  took  the  places.  This  was  one  reason  why  the 
Indians  were  called  lazy.  At  the  agencies,  he  said, 
the  white  men  were  so  numerous  that  they  fairly 
trampled  on  the  Indians.  What  his  people  wanted 
was  a  chance  to  rise  and  fill  the  places  of  trust  and 
consequence  that  were  within  the  reach.  He  de 
sired  that  some  attention  should  be  paid  to  the 
wishes  of  the  Indians  in  regard  to  the  men  to  be 
agents. 

ELOPEMENTS  AND  MARRIAGES. 

The  Indians  were  able  to  tell  as  well  as  white  men 
what  men  were  competent.  The  agents,  he  said,  nat 
urally  selected  their  own  relations  to  fill  places  under 
thejn.  He  thought  that  the  Indians  would  receive 
these  appointments,  if  justice  were  done.  He  then 
spoke  of  religious  matters,  and  said  that  there  were 
three  religious  bodies  on  their  reservation  who  were 
trying  to  teach  them  to  live  better  lives,  and  especi 
ally  to  bring  about  religious  marriages  ;  but  they  did 
not  want  to  be  compelled  to  marry  certain  persons. 

The  Secretary  inquired  who  had  sought  to  com 
pel  them  to  marry.  American  Horse  replied  that 
he  referred  more  particularly  to  persons  who  eloped. 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  593 

When  the  couple  were  brought  back  the  agent  obliged 
them  to  get  married.  He  asked  that  the  losses 
suffered  by  the  Indians  in  the  late  disturbance  be 
made  good  by  the  Government.  He  urged  that  a 
remedy  for  a  good  many  of  the  present  troubles 
would  be  for  the  Government  to  go  back  to  the 
treaty  of  1868,  and  redeem  some  of  the  promises 
then  made.  The  money  bags,  as  he  called  the 
money  which  had  been  promised  then,  must  by  this 
time,  he  thought,  have  reached  a  good  age  and 
have  grown,  and  the  distribution  of  the  sums  due 
would  be  of  great  service.  He  favored  the  removal 
of  the  Carlisle  School  to  the  West,  as  the  Indians' 
children  would  not  then  suffer  in  consequence  of  a 
change  of  climate  and  their  modes  of  life.  He 
said  that  the  contract  with  the  Indians  was  that  their 
children  be  sent  to  the  schools  in  the  East,  and  upon 
their  return,  places  would  be  given  them  on  the 
reservations.  This  he  said,  had  not  been  done. 

A  PEACEMAKER'S  STORY. 

Young-Man-Afraid-of-His-Horses  said  he  was 
very  much  pleased  to  meet  everybody,  and  then 
went  on  to  relate  his  services  in  the  interest  of 
harmony  during  the  late  trouble.  In  the  course  of 
his  introductory  remarks  he  said  he  had  brought  his 
people  into  camp  and  had  turned  in  their  arms. 

"  How  many  ?""  queried  the  Secretary,  and  the 
orator  was  somewhat  nonplussed.  He  knew  the 
total  was  small,  and  he  did  not  care  to  say.  The 
Secretary  removed  the  embarrassment  by  bidding 


594  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

him  proceed  in  his  own  way,  and  then  Young-Man- 
Afraid-of-His-Horses  said  he  hoped  the  Govern 
ment  would  not  only  educate  the  children,  but  would 
also  give  them  something  to  do  when  they  finished 
at  school.  The  Government  had  always  said  that  if 
Indians  worked  they  would  get  rich.  They  wanted 
to  get  rich,  and  the  only  way  that  was  possible  was 
the  giving  of  employment  to  the  young  men  when 
they  left  school. 

"  LET  US  HAVE  PEACE." 

Two-Strike  was  next  called  for.  The  wily  old 
warrior  did  not  want  to  say  much,  but  his  manner 
was  quite  vigorous.  He  acknowledged  that  there 
had  been  trouble,  but  that  was  gone.  He  had  made 
peace  with  General  Miles,  and  turned  in  his  arms, 
and  now  came  to  report  to  the  Great  Father.  He 
was  always  going  to  do  what  he  could  to  maintain 
peace. 

The  next  speaker  was  Hump.  He  called  atten 
tion  to  the  fact  that  he  had  farmed  at  Cheyenne 
River  for  three  years  and  had  no  crop,  and  for  that 
reason  he  wanted  the  rations  increased  and  con 
tinued.  Cheynne  River  Agency  had  suffered  much 
in  this  trouble — about  300  of  the  people  had  been 
killed — and  there  should  be  some  consideration 
shown  the  survivors. 

High  Hawk,  an  Ogallala,  told  with  a  loud  voice 
how  earnest  he  had  always  been  for  peace.  His 
principal  complaint  was  as  to  the  dividing  line  be 
tween  the  Pine  Ridge  and  Rosebud  Agencies.  The 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR. 


595 


line  had  caused  much  trouble,  and  he  hoped  it  would 
be  removed. 

HOW  THE  WOUNDED  KNEE  FIGHT  BEGAN. 

Then  Hollow  Horn  Bear,  a  Brule  from  Rosebud 
Agency,  took  the  floor.  He  said  that  one  man 
(referring  to  the  affair  at  Wounded  Knee)  wanted 
to  fight ;  the  others  did  not.  That  man  fired  his 
gun,  and  then  the  soldiers  shot  men,  women  and 
children.  He  was  somewhat  lost,  but  he  was  going 
to  try  to  do  right,  as  he  had  always  done,  but  he  had 
to  say  that  only  the  white  man  had  broken  the 
mutual  promises.  He  told  of  some  of  his  people 
who  were  badly  wounded,  and  characterized  the 
conduct  of  the  military  as  cruel.  The  soldiers  were 
the  cause  of  the  trouble. 

Hollow  Horn  Bear  then  asked  that  those  Indians 
who  had  lost  property  during  the  late  trouble  might 
be  reimbursed,  and  went  into  financial  matters  in 
connection  with  old  and  unfulfilled  treaties.  Cows 
had  been  promised  long  ago,  but  they  had  not  been 
given.  Crops  were  failures  in  his  country,  and  only 
cattle  raising  was  a  success.  The  cows  ought  to  be 
sent  out  right  away.  There  was  money  due  the  In 
dians,  and  he  hoped  that  would  be  used  in  the  pur 
chase  of  cows  and  mares.  The  money  was  to  have 
been  used  to  buy  beef.  He  would  rather  see  it 
spent  for  something  that  would  bring  in  increase. 
He  asked  that  sub-issue  houses  be  established  in  the 
various  camps,  so  that  men  who  desired  to  work  be 
not  taken  away  from  their  farms  or  cattle.  The 


596  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

agency  was  many  miles  from  many  camps.  There 
was  no  line  and  there  ought  not  to  be.  It  had 
caused  much  trouble.  More  schoolhouses  had  been 
promised,  and  he  hoped  they  would  soon  be  built. 
He  wanted  the  children  to  have  an  opportunity  to 
learn  something. 

Medicine  Bull  then  talked  through  Interpreter 
Cook.  From  his  utterances  it  was  evident  that  he 
always  had  been,  was  now,  and  ever  would  be  in 
perfect  accord  with  the  Indian  policy  of  the  Gov 
ernment. 

THE  SECRETARY  SPEAKS  AGAIN. 

Secretary  Noble  then  spoke  to  the  Indians.  The 
Indian  must  not  be  discouraged.  He  would  be  sup 
ported  as  long  as  he  endeavored  to  do  well.  There 
were  two  sides  to  the  question  of  what  is  due  the 
Indian  and  what  is  due  from  the  Indian.  "I  wish  to 
speak  about  these  things  in  a  friendly  spirit,  "  said 
he.  "  I  wish  to  tell  the  Sioux  what  the  Government 
has  done  for  them,  and  I  wish  to  tell  them  from  a 
book  written  by  their  friend,  Miss  Fletcher,  as  to 
what  has  been  done  for  them.  Up  to  1884,  $4V 
000,000  has  been  given  the  Sioux  by  the  Govern 
ment.  The  Government  acknowledges  its  treaties 
and  agreements  with  the  Sioux.  Since  1884,  when 
this  money  was  paid,  there  has  been  much  more 
money  paid,  according  the  treaty.  One  of  the 
speakers  complained  that  no  cows  have  been  issued 
within  the  last  two  years.  I  wish  to  tell  what  has 
been  issued  in  the  way  of  horses  and  stock  cattle 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  597 

under  the  treaty.  (The  Secretary  then  quoted  sta 
tistics  as  to  the  issues  to  Indians.)  The  schools 
that  the  Indians  want  have  been  kept  up  at  all  of 
these  agencies,  and  industrial  schools  such  as  they 
want  have  also  been  established  at  Pierre,  and 
another  school  will  be  put  up  at  Flandreau.  Farm 
ers  have  been  kept  at  the  different  agencies  to 
show  the  Sioux  how  to  farm  the  land.  The  Great 
Father  asked  Congress  to  do  these  things  according 
to  the  recommendations  of  General  Crook  and  the 
Commissioner.  Congress  has  acted  as  rapidly  as 
other  public  business  would  permit,  and  the  Sioux 
will  next  get  the  benefit.  The  bill  was  approved 
January  igth,  1891.  It  was  a  mere  accident  that 
$100,000  should  have  been  cut  off  the  Sioux  appro 
priation  immediately  after  the  agreement  with  Gen 
eral  Crook.  It  would  have  been  the  same  if  there 
had  been  no  agreement.  These  things  should  con 
vince  the  Sioux  that  the  Government  has  been  try 
ing  to  do  what  was  right  for  the  Indians." 

In  conclusion,  the  Secretary  advised  the  Indians 
to  think  over  the  many  things  the  Government  had 
done  for  them  ;  to  look  at  the  promises  made  by 
General  Crook,  and  to  have  confidence  in  what  he  said. 
The  Secretary  said  he  wanted  the  Indians  to  make  up 
their  minds  to  do  the  best  they  could  to  educate  or  to 
have  educated  their  children,  and  never  let  their 
young  men  dream  that  they  could  ever  get  anything 
by  force  from  the  United  States.  The  Secretary's 
speech  closed  with  renewed  assurances  of  friendship. 


598  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

General  Morgan,  the  Commi>sioner  of  Indian  af 
fairs  gave  another  hearing  to  the  delegation  on  Feb 
ruary  Qth.  He  told  the  Indians  that  he  had  called 

ANOTHER   HEARING. 

them  together  that  he  might  explain  some  things  and 
that  he  might  hear  from  them  in  regard  to  some 
matters  of  administration.  He  reminded  them  that 
he  had  no  power  to  make  laws  and  had  no  food  or 
money  to  give  them,  except  what  Congress  provides. 
He  said  he  thought  they  had  already  heard  all  that 
was  necessary  in  regard  to  the  past.  What  was 
wanted  now  was  to  hear  their  plans  for  the  future. 

The  first  speaker  from  the  Indian  delegation  was 
White  Ghost,  of  the  Crow  Creek  Reservation,  who 
spoke  of  the  encroachments  of  the  whites  upon  the 
lands  of  the  Indians. 

The  Commissioner  assured  him  that  he  would 
have  the  matter  fully  investigated  and  remedied. 

SCANTY   RATIONS. 

White  Ghost  spoke  of  the  rations  of  coffee,  and 
said  that  it  amounted  to  only  one  hundred  grains  a 
week  to  each  person.  He  referred  to  the  small 
rations  of  bacon  issued,  and  said  that  at  a  meeting 
of  the  delegation  the  unanimous  decision  was 
reached  that  they  did  not  want  military  agents. 

Big  Mane,  of  the  Lower  Brule  Agency,  told  the 
Commissioner  that  the  white  people  had  squatted 
on  their  lands  and  prevented  the  Indians  from  get 
ting  fuel  and  hay.  He  wanted  the  agency  moved 
nearer  to  the  lands  occupied  by  the  Indians  and  said 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  599 

they  needed  better  school  facilities.  Ho  complained 
of  the  small  size  of  the  beef  cattle  given  them  for 
food,  and  humorously  attributed  it  to  the  defective 
eyesight  of  the  agent 

Little  No  Heart,  from  the  Cheyenne  River 
Agency,  said  that  the  Christian  people  on  the  reser 
vation  were  doing  a  good  work  in  civilizing  his  peo 
ple,  and  that  their  influence  was  always  on  the  side 
of  peace  and  good  government.  He  said  that  his 
people  wanted  more  and  larger  schools,  where  their 
children  could  learn  the  white  man's  ways.  He  pro 
tested  against  the  appointment  of  military  agents. 
His  people  were  peacefully  disposed,  and  in  his 
opinion  civil  agents  would  better  suit  the  Sioux,  and 
that  the  good  of  all  concerned  required  the  appoint 
ment  of  civil  agents. 

In  answer  to  his  request  for  information  as  to 
what  the  Government  proposed  to  do  for  his  peo 
ple,  the  Commissioner  said  that  he  would  furnish  to 
the  delegation  copies  of  the  Sioux  agreement  of 
1889,  and  said  that  the  purpose  of  the  Government 
was  to  fulfil  every  promise  made  in  that  agreement. 

Little  No  Heart  also  complained  of  the  delay  in  es- 
tablishin^  l!ie  boundary  lines  between  the  two  reser 
vations.  As  the  matter  now  stands,  white  squatters 
are  undoubtedly  trespassing  yet,  and,  as  there  is  no 
well-defined  line,  they  cannot  demand  their  removal. 

The  Commissioner  said  that  he  had  already  given 
instructions  to  have  the  trespassers  removed,  and  to 
have  all  others  warned  not  to  enter  the  reservation. 


6OO  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

Little  No  Heart  having  again  said  that  his  people 
did  not  want  military  agents,  the  Commissioner  said 

MILITARY  AGENTS. 

that,  inasmuch  as  nearly  all  who  had  spoken  had  ex 
pressed  the  same  desire,  he  wished  to  learn  how 
many  of  the  members  of  the  delegation  were  in 
favor  of  civil  agents  and  how  many  in  favor  of  mili 
tary  agents,  and  for  that  purpose  he  instructed  the 
interpreter  to  ask  such  of  the  Indians  as  preferred 
civil  agents  to  stand  up.  With  a  single  exception, 
they  all  stood  up.  The  only  one  who  preferred 
military  agents  was  Major  Swords,  the.  chief  of  the 
Indian  police  at  Pine  Ridge.  The  Commissioner 
explained  his  vote  by  saying  that  a  place  in  the  army 
had  been  offered  him  by  General  Miles.  This  re 
mark  elicited  considerable  laughter  among  the  spec 
tators. 

Mad  Bear,  from  Standing  Rock,  said  that  the 
chiefs  of  the  several  bands  on  his  reservation  had 
had  a  meeting,  at  which  they  asked  him  to  insist 
upon  more  reservation  schools.  His  people  pre 
ferred  reservation  schools  to  distant  schools.  If  the 
schools  were  located  on  the  reservation  their  influ 
ence  would  be  felt  not  only  by  the  pupils  but  by  the 
parents  as  well.  In  this  way  the  greatest  possible 
good  could  be  accomplished. 

A  SENSATIONAL  STORY. 

The  final  session  of  the  conference  was  held  on 
February  11,  and  it  was  made  memorable  by  a  sen 
sational  story  of  the  fight  at  Wounded  Knee,  which 


AND   THE  INDIAN  WAR.  6oi 

was  told  by  Turning  Hawk  and  American  Horse. 
In  beginning  his  story,  Turning  Hawk  said  that  a 
certain  falsehood  came  to  his  agency  from  the  West, 
which  had  the  effect  of  fire  upon  the  Indians. 

"  When  the  fire  came  upon  our  people,"  he  said, 
"  those  who  had  a  certain  far-sightedness,  and  could 
see  into  the  matter,  made  up  their  minds  to  stand  up 
against  it  and  fight  it.  The  reason  we  took  this  hos 
tile  attitude  to  this  fire  was  because  we  believed  that 
you  yourself  would  not  be  in  favor  of  this  particular 
mischief  making  thing;  but,  just  as  we  expected,  the 
people  in  authority  did  not  like  this  thing,  and  we 
were  quietly  told  that  we  must  give  up  or  have 
nothing  to  do  with  this  certain  movement.  Though 
this  was  the  advice  from  our  good  friends  of  the 
East,  there  were,  of  course,  many  silly  young  men 
who  were  longing  to  become  identified  with  the 
movement,  although  they  knew  that  there  was  abso 
lutely  nothing  bad,  nor  did  they  know  there  was  any 
thing  absolutely  good  in  connection  with  the  move 
ment,  and  in  the  course  of  time  w<e  heard  that  the 
soldiers  were  moving  toward  the  scene  of  the  trouble. 

PANIC-STRICKEN  INDIANS. 

"  Frightened  at  the  approach  of  the  soldiers,  and 
hearing  all  manner  of  rumors  as  to  what  the  soldiers 
were  going  to  do  with  them,  they  fled  into  the  Bad 
Lands.  Their  friends  and  relatives  left  behind  at 
the  agency  became  very  anxious  about  them,  and 
sent  parties  to  them  to  try  and  induce  them  to  re 
turn.  Finally  they  succeeded.  When  our  people 


602  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

who  had  been  frightened  away  v.-  ere  returning  to 
Pine  Ridge,  and  when  they  had  almost  readied  the 
agency,  they  were  met  by  tire  soldiers  and  sur 
rounded,  and  finally  taken  to  the  Wounded  Knee 
Creek,  and  there,  at  a  given  time,  their  guns  were 
demanded,  and  when  they  had  delivered  them  up 
the  men  were  separated  from  their  families,  from 
their  tepees,  and  taken  to  a  certain  spot,  their  guns 
having  been  given  up.  When  the  guns  were  thus 
taken  and  the  men  thus  separated,  there  was  a  crazy 
man,  a  young  man  of  very  bad  influence,  and  in 
fact  a  nobody  among  that  bunch  of  Indians,  fired  his 
gun  ;  and  of  course  the  firing  of  a  gun  must  have 
been  the  breaking  of  a  military  rule  of  some  sort, 
for  immediately  the  soldiers  returned  the  fire,  and 
the  indiscriminate  killing  followed. 

BEGINNING  THE  FIGHT. 

The  Commissioner — Did  this  man  fire  at  the  sol 
diers,  or  did  he  simply  shoot  in  the  air? 

Spotted  Horse — He  shot  an  officer  in  the  army. 
The  first  shot  killed  this  officer.  I  was  a  volunteer 
scout  at  that  encounter,  and  I  had  just  asserted  that 
I  saw  exactly  what  was  done,  and  that  was  what  I 
noticed — that  the  first  shot  killed  an  officer. 

The  Commissioner — Did  the  soldiers  return  the 
fire  immediately  or  did  the  Indians  keep  up  their 
firing  ? 

Spotted  Horse — As  soon  as  the  first  shot  was 
fired  the  Indians  immediately  began  drawing  their 
knives,  and  they  were  exhorted  from  all  sides  to 


AND  THE  INDIAN  WAR.  603 

desist,  but  this  was  not  obeyed  ;  consequently  the 
firing  began  immediately  on  the  part  of  the  soldiers. 
Turning  Hawk — All  the  men  who  were  in  the 
bunch  were  killed  right  there,  and  those  who 
escaped  that  first  fire  got  into  the  ravine,  and  as 
they  went  along  up  the  ravine  for  a  long  distance 
they  were  pursued  on  both  sides  by  the  soldiers  and 
shot  down,  as  the  dead  bodies  showed  afterward. 

DID  THE  WOMEN  FIGHT? 

The  Commissioner — In  this  fight  did  the  women 
take  any  part? 

Turning  Hawk — They  had  no  firearms  to  fight 
with. 

The  Commissioner — The  statement  has  been  made 
in  the  public  press  that  the  women  fought  with 
butcherknives,  and  this  has  been  given  as  a  reason 
why  the  women  were  shot. 

Turning  Hawk — When  the  men  were  separated 
and  were  bunched  together  at  a  given  place,  of 
course  only  the  men  were  there  ;  the  women  were 
at  a  different  place  entirely,  some  distance  off. 

The  Commissioner — Was  it  impossible  for  a 
soldier  to  tell  the  difference  between  an  Indian  man 
aid  an  Indian  woman  ?  The  statement  has  been 
made  in  the  public  press  that  the  soldiers  shot  the 
women  because  they  dressed  in  such  a  way  that 
they  could  not  tell  they  were  women. 

Turning  Hawk — I  think  a  man  would  be  very 
blind  if  he  could  not  tell  the  difference  between  a 
man  and  a  woman.  I  have  told  you  that  tLe  women 


604  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL 

were  standing  off  at  a  different  place  from  that 
where  the  men  were  stationed,  and  when  the  firing 
began  those  of  the  men  who  escaped  the  first  on 
slaught  went  in  one  direction  up  the  ravine  and 
then  the  women,  who  were  bunched  together  at 
another  place,  went  entirely  in  a  different  direction 
through  an  open  field,  and  the  women  fared  the 
same  fate  as  the  men  who  went  up  the  deep 
ravine. 

FIRING  ON  A  FLAG  OF  TRUCE. 

The  Commissioner  (to  the  interpreter) — Tell  these 
men  that  are  present  that  I  would  like  if  he  (Turning 
Hawk)  makes  any  statement  which  they  do  not 
accept  that  they  will  correct  it.  I  want  to  get  at 
the  truth. 

American  Horse — The  men  were  separated,  as 
has  already  been  said,  from  the  women,  and  they 
were  surrounded  by  the  soldiers,  who  then  came 
next  the  village  of  the  Indians,  and  that  was  entirely 
surrounded  by  the  soldiers  also.  When  the  firing 
began,  of  course,  the  people  who  were  standing 
immediately  around  the  young  man  who  fired  the 
first  shot  were  killed  right  together,  and  then  they 
turned  their  guns,  Hotchkiss  guns,  etc,,  upon  the 
women,  who  were  in  the  lodges  standing  there  under 
a  flag  of  truce,  and,  of  course,  as  soon  as  they  were 
fired  upon  they  fled,  the  men  fleeing  in  one  direc 
tion  and  the  women  running  in  two  different  direc 
tions.  So  that  there  were  three  general  directions 
in  which  they  took  flight. 


AKD  THE  INDIAN  WAR. 

The  Commissioner — Do  you   mean   to  say  that 

KILLING  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN. 

there  was  a  white  flag  in  sight  over  the  women  when 
they  were  fired  upon  ? 

American  Horse — Yes,  sir;  they  were  fired  upon, 
and  there  was  a  woman  with  her  infant  in  her  arms 
who  was  killed  as  she  almost  touched  the  flag  of 
truce,  and  the  women  and  children,  of  course,  were 
strewn  all  along  the  circular  village  until  they  were 
despatched.  Right  near  the  flag  of  truce  another 
was  shot  down  with  her  infant.  The  child,  not  know 
ing  that  its  mother  was  dead,  was  still  nursing,  and 
that  was  especially  a  very  sad  sight.  The  women, 
as  they  were  fleeing  with  their  babes  on  their  backs, 
were  killed  together,  shot  right  through,  and  the 
women  who  were  very  heavy  with  child  were  also 
killed.  All  the  Indians  fled  in  these  three  directions. 
After  most  of  them  had  all  been  killed  a  cry  was 
made  that  all  those  who  were  not  killed  or  wounded 
should  come  forth  and  they  would  be  safe,  and 
little  boys  who  were  not  wounded  came  out  of 
their  places  of  refuge,  and  as  soon  as  they  came  in 
sight  a  number  of  soldiers  surrounded  them  and 
butchered  them  there. 

VERY  SERIOUS  CHARGES. 

The  Commissioner  (to  the  interpreter) — I  wish 
you  would  say  to  him  that  these  are  serious 
charges  to  make  against  the  United  States  Army. 
I  do  not  want  any  statements  made  that  are  not 
absolutely  true,  and  I  want  any  one  here  that  feels 


f)06  LIFE  OF  SITTING  BULL. 

that  the  statements  are  too  strong,  to  correct 
them. 

American  Horse — Of  course  we  all  feel  very  sad 
about  this  affair.  I  stood  very  loyal  to  the  Govern 
ment  all  through  those  troublesome  days,  and  be 
lieving  so  much  in  the  Government  and  being  so 
loyal  to  it,  my  disappointment  was  very  strong, 
and  I  have  come  to  Washington  with  a  very  great 
blame  against  the  Government  on  my  heart.  Of 
course,  it  would  have  been  all  right  if  only  the  men 
were  killed  ;  we  would  feel  almost  grateful  for  it. 
But  the  fact  of  the  killing  of  the  women  and  more 

o 

especially  the  killing  of  the  young  boys  and  girls, 
who  are  to  go  to  make  up  the  future  strength  of  the 
Indian  people — those  being  killed  is  the  saddest  part 
of  the  whole  affair,  and  we  feel  it  very  $orely.  This 
is  all  I  know  about  that  part  of  the  story,  and  my 
good  friend  here  (pointing  to  Turning  Hawk)  will 
continue  his  narrative. 

The  Commissioner — Does  American  Horse  know 
these  things  of  his  own  knowledge,  or  has  he  been 
told  them  ? 

American  Horse — I  was  not  there  at  the  time  be 
fore  the  burial  of  the  bodies,  but  I  did  go  there  with 
some  of  the  police  and  the  Indian  doctor  and  a  great 
many  of  the  people,  men  from  the  Agency,  and  we 
went  through  the  battlefield  and  saw  where  the 
bodies  were  from  the  track  of  the  blood. 

After  several  others  had  spoken,  the  Commis 
sioner  declared  the  conference  at  an  end 


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